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After a 5 year hiatus, Arts for Peace will once again bring folks together for a peaceful summer afternoon of music, crafts, dance, storytelling, yoga, bubbles and community. This will be the 36th gathering of its kind on the shores of Lake Couchiching.Started by members of Project Ploughshares Orillia, a non-governmental organization that worked with churches, governments and civilian groups to prevent war and promote peace, the sunny festival on the grounds of the Stephen Leacock Museum has been honouring peacemakers from here and from around the world since 1983.
A cancellation due to weather, followed by the COVID pandemic, led to several years where Arts for Peace did not take place. Now, the next generation is getting involved by organizing and promoting a revival of this much loved local treasure with financial support from a City of Orillia grant.
“We have teenagers who remember the Arts for Peace Festival fondly and wanted to be part of making it happen again. I suppose they are at the core of our effort to reinvigorate Arts for Peace,” shared members of the organizing team Becky Bauman and Kara Sears. “We want our children to learn to be peacemakers in this world, especially at a local level. We want to be part of a movement that takes peacemaking seriously.” Bauman went on to share that she “loves the simplicity of the idea that art might be a medium for building peace in our community. Maybe some new seeds will be sown this year that increase peace in the world at a time when war and conflict seem to be all around.”
Adults and children of all ages will be able to participate in a variety of activities featuring crafts, stories, music and movement including Maypole and circle dancing. Attendees will also enjoy performances by local artists such as Maeve O'Connor, Dan McCoy & Alex Rose, Steve Caston, Alex the folk band, Brandt Street sessions, Little Otter, Steve Porter, and more. Community information tables will display how we have planted the roots of peace in our community over the years. Light refreshments will also be available.
“I think the focus, being world peace, must be in everyone’s hearts,” said long-time event volunteer Lorna Bolden. “Locally, it has become almost like a family reunion. People who were involved right at the beginning are now bringing their grandchildren.” The theme of this year's festival is Sowing the Seeds of Peace which is very timely given current global events.
While the grassroots community music and arts festival is free to attend, to cover costs the organizing team has indicated that specialty T-shirts will be sold at the event ($25) and donations will be gratefully accepted.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Leacock Museum National Historic Site, Orillia, Canada
