Since launching the annual Art on the Lake event at the height of the pandemic three years ago, the team at Arts Whistler has learned a thing or two about producing a packed lineup of live music, painting, and performance on top of a lake—literally.
“Let’s see, we learned that art easels slide off little tin fishing boats. We also learned that if you climb a tree to see some art, you can be treed by a bear at the bottom. That happened last year,” says Mo Douglas, Arts Whistler’s executive director. “We learned that if a few people hang onto the barge with a band on it, it creates a flotilla, and the first people who got in can’t get out. What else? Oh, that even people with bad balance can seem to dance on a paddleboard.”
Certainly not the usual lessons you’d learn in event production, they speak to the uniqueness of Art on the Lake, an event borne out of the physical distancing of the pandemic that has evolved into a Whistler summer fan favourite on the events calendar.
“In all seriousness, we’ve learned a lot about production and how people experience the event,” adds Douglas. “We always try to find ways for us to make it more efficient, especially at the end of the day when we’re trying to beat the sun.”
Slated for Thursday, Aug. 10 and Friday, Aug. 11 on and around Alta Lake, this year’s lineup includes eight local musical acts, 10 artists painting in real time, a selection of artwork on display in the “floating gallery,” line dancing with ALGN Whistler, lawn games, and everyone’s favourite canine dock-jumping competition, WAG Woof Water.
Featuring six stations on the south end of Alta Lake, from permanent fishing docks to temporary floating docks, along with shoreline stops at the Alta Lake Station House and in Wayside and Lakeside parks, Art on the Lake offers stand-up paddlers, canoers and kayakers the chance to curate their own marine tour, while taking in the free entertainment.
“It’s one of those things where everyone comes out and congregates and it’s such a unique concept that has worked so well since it was founded. It’s an honour to be invited,” says “Grateful” Greg Reamsbottom, vocalist and co-founder of Whistlerites’ perennial favourite band, The Hairfarmers, who play the fishing dock on the southwest end of the lake from 4 to 5 p.m. on Aug. 10.
Getting the prolific band on the bill this year was something of a coup for Arts Whistler; summer is primetime for The Hairfarmers, who tend to book four or five private gigs a week during the season.
“When we do have an opportunity in the summertime to play for the public on home turf, it’s always a riot,” adds Reamsbottom.
Incredibly, the band, which also features “Guitar” Doug Craig, never comes to a show with a setlist in hand, instead feeding off the crowd to determine which of the roughly 2,500 songs (!!) in their repertoire they will bust out.
As for the atmosphere at Art on the Lake? Reamsbottom predicts “the best patio vibe you can imagine—with a giant swimming pool in front of you.” (Perhaps some Jimmy Buffet classics then?)
Along with The Hairfarmers, playing on Aug. 10 are punk rockers Last Reminisced Heroes; electronic duo Soultide; and beloved local rock band, Red Chair. Then, on Aug. 11, check out Muzik Therapy, a collective of acoustic and electronic performers led by DJ PRAiZ; rockabilly outfit The Railtown Prophets; lo-fi alt pop duo, Little Earthquakes; and quintessential Whistler rock group, Brother Twang.
On the art side of things, on Aug. 10, painter and sculptor Robyn Forsyth, a.k.a. Feral Nifty; acrylic painter Holly Mitchell; mixed-media artist and tattooist Dave Petko; Squamish-based landscape painter Sarah McDonald; and self-taught painter and illustrator Bryony Dique will be creating live for audiences to enjoy. The following day, Aug. 11, features mixed-media artist Emma Doyle; pen-and-ink artist Kate Zessel; Lil’wat jewelry maker Victoria Saddleman; and the couple behind body art company, Paintertainment, Cary and Paulo Lopes.
For McDonald, who, despite her tendency for seasickness, took part in last year’s Art on the Lake, the event offers a rare chance for artists frequently working in solitude to connect with their community.
“It’s just a nice social event. I love chatting with people and getting to paint outside and enjoy the music and the liveliness of the day. It’s an all-around fun experience,” she says. “I tend to not get as much painting done because you’re chatting with people, and then your paint dries and you’ve got to mix it again.”
McDonald’s work often takes on the quality of photography due to her intricate airbrushing that blurs the background or foreground of her stunning floral and mountain landscapes, and this year, she won’t have to look too far for inspiration.
“I might even do a little bit of a scene of what it looks like on the lake, whatever mountains I see in the background,” she says. “I’m a bit more of a paint-in-the-moment kind of person, so I have to be inspired that day.”
For the first time, Art on the Lake coincides this year with another favourite lakeside event, Flag Stop Theatre & Arts Festival, running Friday, Aug. 11 and 12, giving Friday attendees the chance to float over to The Point Artist-Run Centre after Art on the Lake wraps up.
“We thought it was a great opportunity to cross-promote,” Douglas says. “Boy, for the community, it’s a pretty cool week of activity, with four full days around the lake between the two events.”
Art on the Lake is free and runs from 3 to 7 p.m. both days. Alternate days in case of inclement weather are scheduled for either Aug. 17 and 18, or Aug. 24 and 25.
With limited parking available, attendees are strongly encouraged to bike, bus or walk to the lake, if possible.
For more information, and the full lineup of events, visit artswhistler.com/artonthelake.
