Though the actual end of Summer is not before 21 September for us in Charlottetown and on PEI it is the last weekend of Summer, University starts Monday and school starts after Labour Day meaning that all the families with kids will be gone and peace and quiet will return which is a blessing.
This weekend is the annual Art in the open Festival which is a pleasure to attend, all of it is quite spontaneous and done in such a way as to show that art can be everywhere around you, it sounds almost religious. This was the 7th edition of this festival which is mostly at night from 4pm to midnight. A good portion of it is in Victoria Park, facing the bay and the entrance to the Strait. The park is about 90 acres and is in part heavily wooded. The idea is to free your mind and discover contemporary art in the open.
The parts I liked was the many bonfires on the green in Victoria Park behind the Edward Battery, the smell of burning wood by the water is so relaxing. The walk in the forest illuminated only by small path lights, you go around Dead Man’s Pond, it is quite dark and there are stops along the way with art installations, like the phone booth where you can have an existential conversation with Jean-Paul Sartre or the short film on dogs simply doing what dogs do or the Fairy in the Forest area, the top of the trees shining with tiny dancing green lights and a fairy sitting on a mushroom surrounded by toads, flowers and owls. People are quiet as you go about in the darkness examining the art.
In the Kirk of St-James (Presbyterian) this parish dates back to 1825, an installation about the 3 ladies who are said to be haunting the bell tower. This story is related to the sinking of the ship the Fairy Queen near Pictou Island in 1853.
The whole evening started with the march of the Crows on Richmond Street, we have lots of them in Charlottetown and in Victoria Park with no known predators and they are fearless. The festival was well attended by hundreds of people walking all around the various sites.
A very nice time had by all.