Dozens of families dropped by Hibernation Arts on Saturday to pick up hand-crafted ornaments made by local artists.
“This year we decided to do it inside a gallery to get people looking at art and local artists and their work,” says Leslie Fournier, founder of Streets Alive and organizer of the event.
Fournier says she hopes location, in the heart of Orillia’s Peter Street Art District, will help “promote the fact that Peter Street is our little arts gallery district.”
The event, dubbed Merry Streets Alive, started as an idea to create a community-building event that runs during the wintertime.
“Most of our projects for Streets Alive are in the summertime, so I thought it would be fun to do something in the winter. Artists just come forward and paint these beautiful ornaments and it’s just a beautiful little giveaway for the community,” Fournier says.
Streets Alive connects with artists mostly through Facebook, though Fournier says many returning artists anticipate the event every year.
“I think in previous years we’ve done it a little earlier in the month, at the beginning of December,” she says. “It doesn’t seem to matter, it’s a fun community initiative and people seem to support it.”
Molly Farquharson is the owner of Hibernation Arts, which has been open for six years. She hopes that people will consider buying from artists as well as accepting the free ornaments.
“I myself have been making ornaments for a few years, but this is the first time that the giveaway is here,” she says. “The artists have donated their work and so it becomes a way of sharing with the community.”
She's hoping people will visit local gallerys during the Christmas season.
“People should come and actually buy art from artists, not only rely on the giveaways, because artists contribute a lot to the community and to individuals,” says Farquharson.
Amber McGarvey comes with her family to the event every year.
“We’ve been attending these for about nine years, maybe 10 years, and it’s just part of the holiday tradition. We support local artists all year round, so it’s just an extra treat to pick out a handmade ornament and place it on our tree. It’s one that we will never get rid of,” she says.
“It’s just a nice opportunity to have a family photo and do something special that doesn’t cost money and isn’t very materialistic,” added McGarvey. “All the photos over the years just add to the holiday magic while supporting the artist community.”
McGarvey’s daughter, Coral, remembers choosing a Peppa Pig-themed ornament years ago.
“I like it,” she said definitively.
Artist Gavy Swan-Mansfield has been participating in the event since her family moved to Orillia around seven years ago.
“It’s actually one of our favourite family traditions. We really like being able to pick out an ornament. We’ll be picking one out when my kids get here shortly,” she says.
“Just being able to give something to the community is really fun. We love living in Orillia, we absolutely adore the arts community here. So, it is just really fun to be able to sit and make something that we can then give back, even if it’s something small. It’s just a fun thing to do,” says Swan-Mansfield.
Attendees of the event are photographed with their chosen ornament by local photographer Deb Halbot.
“To me, it’s all about community,” she says.
The photos taken by Halbot are posted to the Streets Alive Facebook page, where artists are tagged for further exposure.
Abigail Noble is an intern from Carleton University.
