For a second year in a row, “Canada’s Coolest Island” is relocating to the big city.
This weekend (March 27-29) multi-disciplinary artists from Salt Spring Island will descend on the Heritage Hall on Main Street for Salt Spring in the City, to once again showcase the varied treasures and flavours of the Salish Sea.
Salt Spring, voted one of the “World’s Best Islands” by Condé Nast Traveller and “Canada’s Coolest Island” by the Washington Post, is an artist colony of only 10,000 people situated off the coast of Vancouver, accessible by float plane and ferry.
“Despite its modest population – or perhaps because of it,” event organizers explain, “the island is home to Emmy- and Oscar-winners, best-selling authors, and internationally-recognized actors and recording artists.”
In its first installment, Salt Spring in the City reportedly attracted more than 30 vendors, several thousand visitors and raised $3,500 to feed Downtown Eastside residents with the Save On Meats sandwich token program. With more than 40 vendors this time around, including woodworkers, weavers, coffee roasters and more, the event is sure to be even bigger and more bohemian. We caught up with co-founder Rachel Hughes to see how this dream of “roadside chickens, meandering sheep, organic farms, and gorgeous sunsets” translates to the gritty City of Glass.
What’s this Salt Spring energy; describe what you’re bottling and bringing to Vancouver for us?
It’s equal parts what people think of Salt Spring as – this bohemian artist paradise – and partially a showcase of how cutting edge we are and how modern our thinking is here as well. We have some top-notch artists doing incredible work in the realm of painting, sculpture, design. We also have, of course, the incredible food selection, like Salt Spring Cheese, which people probably already know a lot about.
So you’re kind of painting the picture that this is not your average DIY craft show.
That’s right. For us, it’s about not only having this amazing craft show that could compete with any of the craft shows in Vancouver, but also showcasing why people would want to come visit Salt Spring. For us, living on the island, we’ve seen the challenge of travel costs becoming increasingly higher, and we want to find a way to bring those people who maybe can’t visit the island a piece of the island – offer an authentic Salt Spring experience under one roof – but also encourage those who have maybe considered visiting as to why it’s a worthy trip.
Art and artisan pursuits are how many island residents make a living; are the products still affordable?
Oh, yes. That’s the other important thing about the show – we have everything from high-end sculpture and painting down to the affordable, under $10 gift items.
You live on Salt Spring, so some people might think you’re a little bit biased. What’s giving you context on why Salt Spring and its art scene are so incredible?
Haha, well, I grew up in Toronto, I’ve lived in Montreal, I’ve lived in Berkeley [California], Haida Gwaii – I’ve been surrounded by a lot of fantastic, artistic, creative communities, and from a personal note, Salt Spring is the best. It’s a lot of people on one little tiny island, and it’s incredible the many walks of life that are here and the scale of talent that exists. It’s sometimes just thought of as this folk-arty community, but it really is astounding how many talented people are hiding in this little town.
• Salt Spring in the City runs March 27-29 at the Heritage Hall (3102 Main). Admission is $3 for adults, and $1 for kids, with partial proceeds going to Save On Meats’ Sandwich Token Program. Each day, the first 25 visitors will get a unique custom printed canvas Salt Spring in the City bag with at least $40 worth of crafts, coupons and gifts from vendors. For information visit SaltSpringInTheCity.com.
