A project of the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance

Taking place August 8 and 9 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., the Columbia Basin Culture Tour allows you to explore artists’ studios, museums, art galleries and heritage sites during this free, self-guided event.

Travel to studios and archives that aren’t normally open, see demonstrations, new exhibitions and collections or meet people behind the scenes. To participate in the tour, simply grab a map, your Culture Tour Directory and go!

Artists/Artisans Twila & Tony Austin of Dragon’s Rest Working Studios, Gallery & Dragon Iron Forge, weave their creative magic on the banks of mystical Mark Creek in Kimberley. They work in metal, wood, clay & sumi-e, from one of a kind commissions & traditional Japanese Noh masks to public sculpture.

The Kimberley Arts Council will be hosting the Kimberley Kaleidoscope Arts & Cultural Festival during the Columbia Basin Culture Tour which includes a Children’s Festival on Saturday and an evening concert with Brickhouse. On Sunday you will be able to view the adjudicated Regional Gallery Exhibition.

Fernie artist Helen Robertson creates one of a kind ceramic work (pictured right) which is both functional, food safe and decorative, with complex surface designs. Helen is inspired by the wild flowers found along the Rocky Mountain Trench, particularly the Calypso Orchid or Lady Slipper.  As well, the patterns found throughout the Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia inform Helen’s creative expressions in ceramics and in acrylic paintings.

Marysville Artisans showcases local handmade craft and features numerous artists from Kimberley and surrounding area.

Beginning in 2004, ten local artists own and operate this unique and evolving shop. Artists staff the store and are eager to help you find that unique gift or treasure. You’ll find jewelry, pottery, stained glass and metal work, as well as wood bowls and spoons, handbags, garden decor and more.

The Cranbrook History Centre (formerly the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel) celebrates the heritage and cultural diversity of Cranbrook and the East Kootenay. Explore Cranbrook’s colourful history – from its early days as a Canadian Pacific Railway divisional headquarters to the modern city it is today – with amazing side-by-side then-and-now photographs and rich interpretive text. Visitors are welcome to self-tour through our newest and enthralling exhibit ‘Cranbrook: Then and Now.’ The exhibit showcases Cranbrook’s development from its humble beginnings to its present day incarnation as the ‘Key City’ of the Kootenays. Captivating pairs of photographs show how Cranbrook’s most important landmarks and neighborhoods looked long ago and how they look today.

These are just a few of the fabulous venues on the 2015 Columbia Basin Culture Tour. Tour brochures are available at tourist information centres and participating venues. Visit the website at www.cbculturetour.com to view full artist/venue profiles for further details on each location’s activities or register to receive a tour brochure in the mail. For further information, call the CKCA at 1-250-505-5505 or toll free at 1-877-505-7355. The Columbia Basin Culture Tour is generously supported by Columbia Basin Trust funding.

Lead image: Cranbrook History Centre – Cinderella in the Hall.

Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance

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