Once again, The Georgian Bay Centre for the Arts (GBarts) has twisted and turned to accommodate the latest Covid mandates! Art Under the Big Top will debut this Wednesday evening with Folk Art Painting taught by Kelly Maw, the first in a series of art classes on the sun-dappled banks of the Sydenham River under a lovely shaded canopy.

Ontario’s Re-opening Step Plan restricts indoor teaching until Step 3, sometime in August. Since GBarts is an art and craft teaching space, alternative plans had to be quickly devised.

“In the span of 48 hours, we postponed all our equipment based programming, and created a whole new line up of classes that could happen outdoors.” says Executive Director Morag Budgeon. “It was fast and furious, be we managed to schedule and post 30 new classes in three days. I have a great team!”

A 25’ tent will accommodate a teacher and 9 students, with lots of social distancing. GBarts is located on main street Owen Sound, and backs onto the picturesque Sydenham river, the perfect location for an art class. Adult classes will happen on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Kids classes have been scheduled for every Wednesday of the summer, morning and afternoon. Classes range from painting to whittling, something for everyone.

“It is a Covid silver lining that we have been forced to start initiatives that we might never have explored; Curbside and Cottage Crafts, Craft Dinners, Kids Craft Kits. Now we are adding to our complement with Art Under the Big Top“ adds Budgeon, “it even looks a bit like a circus tent!”.

All classes are listed on the GBarts website, www.gbarts.ca. The in-house Palette Café is open daily for take-out and patio dining. Register online or call 519 371 2200.

source: media release, Georgian Bay Centre for the Arts