What’s better than having a new arts centre? Having new arts groups form to make use of it, of course.
Luckily for the people of Summerland, that’s exactly what’s happened.
When the new Arts Centre opened up on Wharton Street, local fibre artists Margie Sylvester saw a chance to make something happened in Summerland.
“I just wanted to start a group here now that there’s space,” she said.
That idea turned into a new group that meets Tuesday here in Summerland that focuses on fibre arts, things like felting, weaving, knitting and spinning.
The group started meeting at the beginning of February and has attracted already attracted a small group of folks who are interested in fibre arts.
The group is a good mix of spinners — people who use things like a spinning wheel or drop spindle to turn wool into yarn — knitters, weavers and felters.
Until this group started up, people who wanted to learn more about fibre arts had to travel down to Oliver for the weekly meetings of the Desert Sage Spinners and Weavers Guild. But when the new Arts Centre opened up, Sylvester saw a chance to start something locally.
“I’m so happy to have a facility where these things can happen,” she said. “And it’s our responsibility to use it.”
The small group is great because it allows the members to get to know each other. However, Sylvester eventually hopes the group grows large enough to hold workshops to demonstrate the various aspects of the fibre arts.
For now, though, Sylvester is happy to see more members come out to see what the group is all about.
“Come on out, even if you’re just a beginning,” she said. “This isn’t a group that knows everything. It’s just a good place to start.”
For many, especially kids, felting is a good place to start. It doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment to get going — a felting needle and a felting brush can get you started — and the process is quite simple unlike, say, weaving, which can be quite complicated.
That said, if you’ve always to try out weaving, a group like this is a great place to find out more. Not only are people more than willing to help newcomers learn more, but there’s usually some extra equipment around for people to test out.
The fibre arts group meets on Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Anyone interested in the group can contact Margie Sylvester at 250.494.0222 or via email at mack-sylvester@shaw.ca.
Douglas Paton is a Summerland writer and musician. If you know of a local arts and culture event, contact him at dgpaton80@gmail.com.
