The Sea to Sky Corridor is now widely regarded as a mecca of athletic pursuits, and there's a dawning awareness of the region's wide array of artists. Now resident Curtis Suave is providing a venue to marry both disciplines, and he hopes to spread this "balance of mind and body" with what he hopes is the first annual four-day event, "Unite the Untrite" at the Howe Sound Inn.Suave says he wants to dispel the typical notion of athletes as uncreative and artists as unathletic - thus dispelling the idea they're "trite" or mundane people - with an event that features local artists' creations and the growing pursuit of body painting. "It's a no-brainer," said Suave. "Fit people and body painting."Suave has experience in athletic and artistic pursuits, having indulged in his love of outdoor recreation in Squamish for several years, and discovering an untapped source of creativity while organizing a local arts event four years ago. For Suave, the two pursuits mingle naturally to create the healthiest lifestyle balance - the yin and yang - of mind and body.Fresh from Canada's most popular body painting event, Body Gras, held in Nanaimo last month, Suave said he was motivated to bring the increasingly popular form of art to Squamish and use it as a backdrop to help expose some of the more "underground" artists who haven't had many chances to show their work."The arts scene here, even since four years ago, is really booming," he said, citing Wild at Arts as just one of the events highlighting local artists. Above and beyond the body painting, Unite the Untrite provides a venue for a variety of mediums, including rock and wood sculptures, jewelry, photography, copper creations and lots of paintings, by a variety of artists, including Jos茅e St-Amour and Sarah Price.Suave will use photos of the various artistic creations to form a calendar in an endeavour he hopes to take on every year. Unite the Untrite takes place at the Howe Sound Inn's Garibaldi Room Thursday to Sunday (Oct. 23 to 26). The body-painting event takes place Saturday, Oct. 25 from 5 to 9 p.m. Entry is $5 at the door.
