Representatives of the many and varied artistic expressions came together in Kemptville last Saturday for the first Experience Art Fest. Organised by the North Grenville Poetry Guild, it included poetry readings, local history and children’s literature, paintings, photographs, and the North Grenville Community Theatre company. Set up in tents in the Municipal Centre’s parking lot, the participants enjoyed (if that’s the mot juste) the heat and the sun and the cooling breeze, as they displayed their artistic wares.
Poetry Guild organiser, Ashley Rachel Sloan, had worked hard, along with colleagues, to present what is hoped to be an annual event in North Grenville. Bringing all the arts and culture groups together has always been a challenge here, and the Experience Art Fest was reminiscent of how the old Dandelion Festival originated with a similar collaboration between the area’s arts and culture groups.
The focus for the event was primarily poetry, and Bruce Kauffman, a poet, writer, editor, and workshop facilitator based in Kingston, brought poets from Ottawa, Kingston, and as far away as Toronto, to read their work, while they and Katie Nolan ran workshops for those checking out the event.
This was an event that should grow over the years, as the community has always embraced the arts and culture talent that is so plentiful in North Grenville and surrounding regions.