It's no secret that Revelstoke is home to an abundance of amazing gardeners, which means some pretty spectacular gardens. What is being kept secret – for now at least – are the names and locations of the 13 gardens featured in this years Garden and Art Tour, which is an annual fundraiser for the Revelstoke Local Food Initiative.
“The gardens, I can't tell you about, otherwise people would just go without buying the map. It's a fundraiser so we want people to buy tickets,” said organizer Agathe Bernard. “This year we are featuring south of town.”
The gardens featured in this year's tour are located in the downtown, Southside, Arrow Heights, and Airport Way areas of town. Other than that, Bernard is keeping mum on any other details.
The 18 artists, however, aren't secret. Artists will be featured in the various gardens being showcased.
“They're the hook,” said Bernard.
Some of the artists taking part include: Kate Ediger (drift wood art); Karen Miller (watercolour painting); local jeweller Nicola Macklin; Kelly Hutcheson (stained glass); and Sara Sansom (hair design).
“I'm so excited,” said Bernard. “She (Sara) actually came to me with the idea of doing hairstyles in gardens.”
Also included this year will be art work from children involved with the Little Sprouts Program through the Local Food Initiative. They have been working on seed mosaics which will be featured at the Community Garden at the United Church.
Both Community Garden locations are being featured in this year's tour. There will be face painting available at the United Church location (you must have your ticket to get your face painted); while visitors to the second Community Garden location will be able to check out the current exhibitions at the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre.
New this year is a wrap up party at Queen Elizabeth Park, being hosted in collaboration with Begbie BBQ and RockIt Events. The evening will include live music courtesy of local duo Lo-fi Uppercut, picnic style seating with picnic blankets, and giant bean bag chairs. There will be some tables for those who are not comfortable or are unable to sit on the ground. The party will also include a variety of giant-sized games, including Monopoly.
“Jessica from RockIt, she had the idea to organize a giant-sized Monopoly,” said Bernard.
People purchasing tickets/maps will be given Monopoly money as well. As they go along on the tour they'll have the option to “purchase” property. Then, when people attend the Garden Party, if they have the three properties which RockIt Events has decided are side by side, they will win a prize.
Volunteers are still needed for the Garden and Art Tour. Those interested in volunteering can send an email to gardenandart@revelstokelocalfood.com.
Garden and Art Tour 2016 takes place this Saturday, July 23. The self-directed tour takes place from 1-5:30 p.m., and the Garden Party takes place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Queen Elizabeth Park. Tickets for the tour only are $10, while tickets for the tour and Garden Party are $15 and can be purchased at Le Marche. Ticket purchasers will also be able to buy a copy of the book Mountain Harvest, which features many of the gardeners in this year's tour, for only $15. Proceeds go to support the Revelstoke Local Food Initiative. Tickets will also be available at the Revelstoke Farmer's Market on the day of the event.