Fall for Arts & Culture in The County 🎨🎭🖼🎙
Whether you want to add to your art collection. immerse yourself in a exhibition, witness public art, attend a performance or go behind the scenes at an artist’s studio, Fall is an incredible time to visit The County. Here’s just some of what you can experience throughout the region this season.
Please note that public health travel advisories and orders are changing frequently during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Please consult our COVID-19 Essential Info page for the latest updates.
Artist Pamela Carter works in her studio in Prince Edward County. You can visit her studio as part of the PEC Studio Tour. Photo courtesy of PEC Studio Tour.
Go on a PEC Studio Tour
From September 24-26, 2021 follow the PEC Studio Tour throughout The County for a chance to go behind the scenes, meet the artists and observe their creative processes. If you’re in the market, this is a great opportunity to start or add to your collection, or if you’re just looking for inspiration, this is a fantastic activity that will take you off the beaten path.
Hit the PEC Arts Trail
The Arts Trail is a year-round, self-guided ‘choose your own adventure’ tour of artist studios and galleries, featuring sculpture, visual arts, photography and more. It’s a great chance to meet some of the artists who give The County its flare.
Related: How to Curate a County Art Collection 🎨
Table Settings at Coldcreek Vineyards, October 2020, Hillier, PEC. Image courtesy of Alchemy Artists Residency.
Experience Ontario Culture Days with Alchemy Artists Residency
Temporary public art installations will be on display from September 25 – October 24, 2021 at wineries throughout Hillier as a part of FIELD NOTES by Alchemy Artists Residency, part of Ontario Culture Days 2021 Creatives in Residence. Alchemy’s Table Settings is a powerful project bringing together artists, vintners and vineyard workers together, with the artists bringing healthy and delicious dinners to farm and vineyard workers. The exhibition features sculpture, collage, tactile objects, poetry and painted works inspired by these dinners and collaborations. Find exhibitions at Broken Stone Winery, Stanners Vineyards, Closson Chase Vineyards, Hinterland Wine Company, Casa Dea Estates Winery, Cold Creek Vineyards and Redtail Vineyards. Experience these installations in person, free of charge. Be sure to pre-register here to receive background content on the installation to enhance your self-guided tour (this will be released September 30th).
Browse a Gallery or Two (or Ten!)
The County is fill to bursting with amazing art galleries to suit every style, and many galleries are hosting special exhibitions and sales this fall, like the 7 Artists Outdoor Exhibition and Sale and Treetopia at ANDARA Gallery, which is a bright spot on any art tour in The County with its Crayola-coloured façade and knit-bombed trees.
Related: 25+ Places for Art in Prince Edward County 🖌
A barn quilt square adorns the side of a red barn in Prince Edward County. Photo by George Fischer.
Discover the Barn Quilt Trail
Many visitors notice them, but few really know what they’re looking at. We’re talking about barn quilts, one of the most common (and eye-catching) forms of public art in the area. Barn quilts are eight-foot square (and smaller) painted replicas of actual fabric quilt blocks, painted on wooden or MDO boards, then mounted on a barn or other buildings. While cloth quilts are usually made up of a series of the same pattern placed together, a barn quilt is a single pattern square. Barn quilts become rural eye candy glimpsed as we roll down our rural highways, drawing attention to Ontario’s disappearing rural landscapes, timber frame barns, and the family farm. They can also be seen on homes of all kinds in The County.
While you’re more than likely to happen across a barn quilt or two during your visit, if you want to seek them out, be sure to follow the PEC Barn Quilt Trail and discover this unique part of County art and heritage.
Creating an encaustic painting with foraged materials as part of the Pause experience. Image by Susan Wallis.
Become the Artist
Don’t just come to The County to see art, come here to make it! The Department of Illumination – a local organization dedicated to creating magical arts experiences for everyone – is hosting their annual Scarecrow Festival this October over Thanksgiving weekend, which is a perfect opportunity to make some fall art with the kiddos. In November their Firelight Lantern Festival takes to the streets, bringing light and life to the colder and longer night that settle in at this time of year (stay tuned for details about the 2021 event).
Want to try your hand at encaustic painting? Don’t miss Pause, a special County experience which connects visitors to the healing powers of nature through a meditative forest walk, followed by a studio session at Melt Studio Gallery where encaustic artist Susan Wallis guides guests in creating an original encaustic painting using natural items collected during the walk.
Related: Plan Your Fall 2021 Visit to Prince Edward County 
Let us Entertain You
Fancy art of of the auditory sort? Have a laugh with Martha Chaves at the Regent Theatre (presented by Comedy Country), take in the final Saturdays of live music at Karlo Estates (with Alison Joan Borgin Burke(Borgin), Trevor Norris, and the summer performers at their annual Thanksgiving Jam), or attend the annual Prince Edward County Chamber Music Festival. Celebrate self-expression by taking in a drag show at The Hayloft or The Grist Mill, or enjoy a film or live performance at The Regent Theatre which has joyfully reopened after being closed since March 2020.
So plan to put a little art into your Prince Edward County visit this Fall. We know you’ll be inspired.
