Your waterfront destination to enjoy the best in the culinary, visual, performing and literary arts!
West Vancouver, BC / Tues., May 17, 2016 — Nestled between the mountains and the sea on Vancouver’s North Shore, the picturesque municipality of West Vancouver keeps a low profile for most of the year, but that all changes for ten days every summer when the community throws open its doors and invites everyone to visit and celebrate the arts at the Harmony Arts Festival.
The Harmony Arts Festival, presented by Odlum Brown Limited, runs July 29 – August 7, 2016. It began 26 years ago as a celebration of the region’s visual artists and for many people, the opportunity to view fine art in a variety of mediums is the highlight o f the season. On both weekends of the festival, attendees will have the chance to stroll down Argyle Avenue between 14th and 16th streets to purchase high quality artwork from the ABC Senior Services Art Market. This year’s Art Market will feature a mid week Art of Photography exhibition, showcasing fine art photography available for purchase. The Art of Photography exhibition will run between Tuesday and Thursday during the festival.
The popular ArtSpeaks workshops, sponsored by British Pacific Properties, entice amateur artists who are looking to delve further into their own artistic processes. The ArtSpeaks Showcase Exhibition will feature pieces from many of the ArtSpeaks workshop facilitators.
For kids, there’s the Artsy Kids tent sponsored by the North Shore News. Located on the east side of 1564 Argyle Avenue, this drop-in visual arts tent will open daily from 11 to 5 p.m. Young people can also take part in the Harmony Kids Camp from August 2 – 5. Pre-registration is required. The For the Love of Art children’s art exhibition and silent auction sponsored by Dentistry-on-Bellevue will take place at the exhibition tent daily between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Music lovers always find a welcome mixture between the new and t he familiar at the many musical venues at the Harmony Arts Festival. The popular Onni Group Sunset Concerts, featured nightly on the West Vancouver Community Foundation Stage, will return with ten concerts at 7:30 p.m. Along with this is the Hollyburn House Seniors Series, showcasing three shows including a special Remembering Dal with the Dal Richards’ Orchestra commemoration event, set to take place on Sunday, August 7 from 2 to 4 p.m. The PARC Retirement Living Concert Series will take place on the PARC Retirement Living Garden Stage in Millennium Park. With three concerts daily, there’ll be no shortage of quality musical entertainment.
This year’s much anticipated new venue, The Park Royal Marina Club, will be located right on the beach in Ambleside landing, and will feature an adults-only culinary & bar experience. Attendees will sing & dance the night away with the Marina Club Concerts, showcasing dueling pianos on the Marina Club Stage.
Also new this year is the Readings in the Park series, sponsored by Amica Mature Lifestyles, taking place on the West Vancouver Community Foundation Stage. A crime panel will be held on Tuesday, August 2 at 4 p.m. featuring local authors William Deverell, Ian Hamilton and Sam Wiebe. On Thursday, August 4 at 4 p.m., Giller prize-winning author, Joseph Boyden, is expected to draw a large attendance. This is sure to be a can’t-miss event!
Cinema in the Park sponsored by West Vancouver Optometry, will return with nine movie screenings at 9 p.m. every evening on the West Vancouver Community Foundation Stage in John Lawson Park. This year’s movie screenings will include Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Wizard of Oz, A League of Their Own and Sleepless in Seattle.
No trip to the Harmony Arts Festival is complete without sampling the food and beverages on offer. The popular RE/MAX Waterfront Lounge will return to Millennium Park and feature delicious Italian cuisine provided by Caffe Al Mercato. In addition to the Park Royal Marina Club serving delicious food from Raglans and drinks between noon and 10:30 p.m. daily, there is also the Beachside Patio on the west side of Millennium Park offering drinks and local seafood from The Dirty Apron. Attendees looking for something more casual may opt for one of the food carts at Artisan Eats, sponsored by Canadian In-Home Care and located within John Lawson Park.
Those with a more competitive frame of mind when it comes to culinary experiences will enjoy the 6th annual Best of the West event, sponsored by Grosvenor Americas. Held on August 3 at the Ambleside pier, this competition is a pairing event featuring 12 restaurants and 12 wineries. In addition, a new Mixology Night on the Pier event will be held on August 4, and will feature exciting cocktail creations from the best bartenders in the city!
Boaters can once again take advantage of the best view in town with the return of the Pop-Up Marina & Club 25, sponsored by Eric Christiansen – West Vancouver Real Estate. This temporary moorage location near the Ambleside Pier will be open for the duration of the festival, complete with a boat to shore valet dinghy service.
For more information about any of the exhibits, workshops or events at the Harmony Arts Festival, visit the website HERE.
