PREVIEW
Victoria International Chalk Art Festival
When: Sept. 12 to 16
Where: The Bay Centre (centre court) and Government Street
Admission: Free
With buskers set to cartwheel, juggle and firebreathe their way into the Inner Harbour on a yearly basis, the time has come for Stage 2 of John Vickers' three-pronged plan to pump life into downtown Victoria.
The inaugural Victoria International Chalk Art Festival is more than advanced hopscotch. The companion event to the Victoria International Busker Festival is expected to be the biggest chalk festival in sa国际传媒, according to Vickers, and will feature world-renowned chalk artists.
"As far as we know, there has not been one of this length before in sa国际传媒 - or one that has the calibre of artists that we are presenting," he said.
It kicks off Wednesday at the Bay Centre, where California-based artist Tracy Lee Stum will spend five days drawing on a specially built 20-foot square covered in canvas. Stum is considered the top 3-D chalk artist in the world, Vickers said.
"Tracy is sought after all over the world. She just finished one not long ago in Santiago [Chile] and before that, she was in Mumbai [India]," he said. "So to have her come and create this giant drawing is going to be pretty exciting stuff, I think, for the community."
The festival will continue with a weekend exposition, when between five and 10 artists will cover Government Street with art.
The street will be closed between Fort and Yates streets from 6 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16. Participating artists include Lorelle Avonne Miller, Jeanie Burns, Ian Morris, Michael Las Casas and Cathy Gallatin.
Vickers, who also hosts the busker festival that drew thousands of attendees this year, said he's trying to make downtown fun.
"My aspiration has been to create three festivals," he said. "We've got the architecture, we've got the beautiful waterfront, but there's just not a whole lot of fun going on."
For the busker festival, Vickers took inspiration from buskers already performing downtown, and visited sa国际传媒's largest busker festival in Halifax.
He did something similar for the chalk-art event, chatting with Government Street chalk artist Ian Morris, who told him that North America's biggest chalk festival takes place in Sarasota, Florida. Vickers contacted organizer Denise Kowal, who volunteered as artistic director, sharing her expertise and contacts.
The beauty of both the busker and chalk festivals is that they allow for a transient, wandering audience, he said. "It keeps the street vital, with people walking around."
The chalk festival received contributions of $7,500 from both the Downtown Victoria Business Association and Tourism Victoria. The Hotel Association of Greater Victoria is also providing lodging for the out-of-town artists.
As for Vickers, he still has one more festival up his sleeve. Tentatively planned for next June, it's an International Kite Festival. [email protected]
