The Queen West neighbourhood will once again become a meeting place for art, music, performance and community when the Queen West Art Crawl (QWAC) returns to Trinity Bellwoods on Sept. 19 and 20.
Celebrating its 23rd year, the free, two-day multi-arts festival runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, and features more than 100 artists and artisans from across the province as well as live performances, family programming, food and shopping.
The festival opens Saturday at noon with opening ceremonies featuring a two-spirit First Nations leader and Elder, followed by a drum circle and Jingle Dancing.
The festival is built around its outdoor art exhibition, where visitors can meet artists and browse works ranging from paintings and ceramics to wood sculpture and other handcrafted pieces.
The live entertainment lineup includes local acts Poor Man’s High, Earlybird and versaCello, along with Colombian dancers, comedians and drag performers. Drag artists including Sofonda Cox, Sanjina Da Bish Queen and Jada Shada Hudson, who has appeared on Canada’s Drag Race, will also perform.
The Kids’ Zone has the return of Betty Baker for daily story time as well as Opera Mouse, Roseneath Theatre and Blank Canvas will more entertainment as well as arts and crafts.