This year’s Columbia Basin Culture Tour includes five stops in Rossland.
The tour is a free, self-guided event, taking place on Aug. 12 and 13 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It offers participants the chance to explore artists’ studios, art galleries, museum and heritage sites — some of which are not normally open to the public.
In Rossland, fibre artist Sarah Elizabeth is opening her home studio (2570 Leroi Ave.) up for the tour.
“I have two kinds of studios in my home: I have what I call a dry studio and a wet studio,” she explains. “So mostly people are going to be invited into the dry studio, because the wet studio is not as safe, just in terms of its location and things like that.”
Visitors will be able to see carding equipment, which Elizabeth uses to process fibres, spinning wheels — which she will demo — looms and drop spindles, which people will be able to try out.
Elizabeth will also have some of her finished products on display.
“I have some woven scarves on my loom that I haven’t taken off yet, but I’ll have some woven tapestries and hand-spun and hand-died yarn, as well as some felted finished products for people to take a look at,” she says.
Elizabeth also creates supplies for other fiber artists to use and will have those on display as well.
Tour takers can see more fiber art at Trish Rasku’s home studio (2087 Park St.). Rasku works with natural materials in all media and for the tour will have looms set up, spinning wheels in place and fibre ready for felting, dyeing or spinning.
Over on Washington Street, both the Rossland Light Opera Players (RLOP) and artist Stephanie Gauvin will be participating in the tour.
The RLOP is the oldest musical theatre group in the B.C. interior and will be welcoming visitors to its rehearsal hall in the historic Bodega Hotel (2054 Washington St.), where they can check out set pieces and costumes.
Gauvin will be working in her studio (2070 Washington St.) during the tour.
“I’m always doing some fresh work and they will see some original paintings,” she says. “Some small ones and some large ones — all my most current work — and some prints on canvas as well.”
Gauvin paints expressionist landscapes and her Washington Street studio is regularly open to the public Wednesday to Saturday, 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. You can follow her work on Instagram (@stephaniegauvinartist), on Facebook (Stephanie Gauvin Artist) or at her website, artiststephaniegauvin.com.
The Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre (1100 Hwy. 3B) is also on the tour and has some special activities planned.
Tour brochures are available at tourist information centres and participating venues.
For more information, visit cbculturetour.com or call the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance at 250-505-5505.
