Written by Lorelyn Morgan
Saturday & Sunday, September 24 & 25, 10 AM – 4 PM
Contact the Apple Route Studio Tour for a tour map and further information
This is a free event. join the guest list here:
It all began in 2017, when a couple of artists residing in Colborne learned that federal funding might be made available to help celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial. The money had to be spent on community activities as opposed to infrastructure or capital investment. “What about a studio tour?” the artists said. “What about a studio tour centred right here in Cramahe Township?”
[It must be acknowledged here that Northumberland County already has the Northumberland Hills Studio Tour, which has run successfully for many years, but that tour tends to centre around Port Hope and Cobourg, leaving artists in the eastern half of the county often feeling underserved.]
Very soon it became apparent that there were enough artists with enough interest to make a local studio tour a viable idea. The funding application was made and granted, a steering committee formed, and the first Cramahe Studio Tour became a reality on the August long weekend in 2017 – the weekend marking not only Canada’s sesquicentennial celebrations but also Cramahe Township’s 225th anniversary.
After successfully running the tour for two years, the steering committee decided it was time to expand the geographic parameters a bit, and in so doing, chose a new name in 2019: the Apple Route Studio Tour. Further expansion was planned in 2020, with an eye to including artists from the entire eastern half of Northumberland County, from Grafton east to Brighton, and from Lakeport north to Hastings. A graphic designer was hired to create a new logo, and a website was created. Excitement reigned! And then Covid descended.
Two years later, we find ourselves thinking that perhaps it may be possible to open our homes and studios to the public once again. By the time our steering committee was reforming, plans for the 2022 Northumberland Festival of the Arts were well underway, and we were delighted to be able to partner with NFOTA in highlighting the work of so many visual artists living and working in the eastern half of Northumberland County.
At its best, a studio tour should combine the fun aspects of a gallery hop, a home & garden tour and a road rally, and this year’s Apple Route Studio Tour will not disappoint. A total of 28 juried artists in 22 locations will welcome guests into their studios, workshops, homes, and gardens. Some are exhibiting in historic buildings. These artists all live in small towns and rural settings. They work in an eclectic variety of mediums – drawings in ink and graphite, paintings in oil, watercolour, acrylic & encaustic, mixed media, jewelry, fabric, fibre, photography, clay and mosaics. Visitors will have the opportunity to chat with the creators, and to view and purchase one-of-a-kind works of art large and small.
From Lakeport north to Hastings and from Wicklow east to Brighton, along the shore of Lake Ontario, through laden orchards, ripened fields and rolling hills – the variety of both the landscape and the art will astound you. We invite you to come visit and discover for yourself that visual art is very much alive and well in the eastern half of our county. The 2022 Apple Route Studio Tour will run on the middle weekend of NFOTA, September 24 & 25, from 10 – 4. Hope to see you then!
Northumberland Festival of the Arts will take place across Northumberland County from September 16 – October 2, 2022.
Northumberland Festival of the Arts is a volunteer-run not-for-profit arts organization.
To volunteer for NFOTA, please contact info@festivalofthearts.ca
To help support our events, please send your donation by Interac to fundraising@festivalofthearts.ca
An impressive array of creators on display