An alleyway adorned with floating, glowing umbrellas; facades superimposed with moving pictures; a pavilion transformed into a life-size snow globe; a steampunk rocket ship ready for take-off. It’s the magic of seeing everyday spaces transformed that makes the Luna Arts Festival so special.
More than two dozen artists – both visiting and local – collaborated to make Revelstoke’s first nocturnal arts festival a success.
It’s Saturday night and the forecast rain has just let up, though people still walk the streets with umbrellas.
Visitors navigate a three-block swathe of downtown Revelstoke, glittering in the magic aftermath of a fresh rain.
Installations litter the streets. No space is too insignificant.
Musicians play at intervals so that no matter where you walk, you hear something.
Soft vocals spill onto the street from Dose Coffee, where Leila Neverland is playing a set. Outside, when a group stops to look up on, others do the same and marvel at the historic film superimposed on the wall.
“Wow,” people whisper. “That’s so cool,” say others.
On MacKenzie Avenue, Sarah Boyle sits on a bike and patiently spins her legs to keep a zoetrope spinning.
The zoetrope, an edible creation by Josee Zimyani, spins and shows a full moon rising behind a paddle boarder. The cake would later be served at the Luna afterparty.
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Nearby, festival goers help complete a colouring book mural created by Angela Gooliaff at the Taco Club.
Farther up the street, throngs of kids enter the life-size snow globe, imagined by Rob Buchanan, Jessica Leahey and Greg Hoffart. Later, an older crowd will explore the streets.
Stickers handed out by volunteers will later show that more than 3,000 came to the festival on opening night.
There’s something special for everyone at Luna.
Luna continues until Oct. 7.
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