The Cariboo’s relaxed, chilled festival of everything Arts returns this weekend.
ArtsWells strums off starting on Friday, June 26, until Sunday, June 28, which will have music and art sets, as well as workshops taking place throughout the mountain town.
“I’m super excited to get to welcome everybody back to the community, and to have another great few days of music and art,” says Elyssia Sasaki, one of the Coordinators for ArtsWells, who adds that this year’s festival will feature a diverse lineup of local, out-of-town, and out-of-province arts talent.
“I would say that this is a pretty exciting year of ‘new’ friends coming up to the Cariboo. We will have Charlotte Cornfield, from Toronto, who just released a new Album. There are only two dates in B.C for her album’s release tour and show, and ArtsWells is one of them, which makes this feel really special.”
Local talent at this year’s festival will include Lucy Jeffery, who is from Wells. According to Sasaki, Jeffery went through the kids’ songwriting programs that ArtsWells put on before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s so nice and special to see that come in a full circle moment, and they’re going to be playing a couple of sets over the weekend.”
Other artists performing are Patrick Courtin, recognized for his work in Barkerville, who will be live-scoring a Buster Keaton film. Fatamorgana, a theatre group out of Quesnel, will be doing their shadow puppet theatre show. Sound Factory out of Prince George will be hosting what Sasaki called a “petting zoo for musical instruments” on Saturday afternoon. It will have a bunch of different musical instruments for families and kids to try out. Sound Factory will also be hosting an open mic jam session for kids to try out as well.
Then, after a few years of delays, Stephen Hamm, the Theremin Man, will finally make his trip up to ArtsWells. Hamm is a local East Vancouver legend, renowned for his use of the theremin, an instrument that produces ethereal and cosmic sounds that sound like they come out of a sci-fi film. Hamm will also lead a workshop on the theremin over the weekend.
Last year, Sasaki says the festival had just over 850 visitors to the creative mountain town. This year, she is expecting the festival to reach a similar attendance number.
“People were really receptive of the date changes, and we received a lot of heartwarming feedback on the change,” says Sasaki. “A lot of tourism and hospitality partners said it was nice to have it right at the start of the summer, and it worked really well for us in Wells too. So, we’re excited to have it back, and that it’s beginning to walk on its own two feet again after recent years. We’re just so excited to welcome everyone back in the Wells community and have a fun weekend of arts.”
The Festival’s opening ceremony starts at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
More information, and a full list of the weekend’s lineups, can be found on ArtsWells’ website.
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