More than 240 people took in the two-day Days With the Arts studio tour in the Alberni Valley last weekend, making it a successful fundraiser for the community arts council.
“It went really well,” organizing committee chair Colleen Goodrich said.
The community arts council took over organization of the tour this year after the Beta Sigma Phi sorority handed over the reins. More than 100 artists showed their work at 39 venues, including seven public venues like Echo Centre, the train station and Maritime Discovery Centre.
Goodrich had been a little worried last week as only 40 tickets had been sold by mid-week.
Only five of the 100 artists had to cancel due to illness, she said. And while the event committee hasn’t had a chance to debrief yet, she said it looks to be a success.
She asked artists whose studios she visited how things were going and was met with enthusiasm. She asked them all to contact her with their feedback on the event, which is run every second year. The garden tour runs the opposite year.
“There’s probably things we could do better,” Goodrich said. She would like to see a youth ticket price and a youth venue in two years, something she felt was lacking this year.
Restaurants that offered deals to people with tour wrist bands were full, and there was a buzz at Char’s Landing when the winning raffle tickets were drawn, she said (all winners have been notified).
“As far as raising the profile of arts in the Alberni Valley, it was extraordinary,” she said.
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