Scott Fraser took in the Winterruption Festival on Granville Island exactly the way it’s intended to be taken in.
“I’m a people watcher and I love walking around with a cup of coffee and watching the process of discovery,” said Fraser, who works for Granville Island’s marketing team through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. “It’s a bit of a buffet — people can walk around the island and graze on things.”
That included all things arts and culture packed into daylight hours of the weekend (a taster menu kicked things off Friday) with musical acts and theatre taking over the evening.
While the three-day Winterruption had a central hub for the first time in the festival’s 12 years, the appeal was pop-up surprises to give it the fun of a grab bag from a dime store.
The impressive contingent of dancers that roamed the island — errr, peninsula — included Isabelle Kirouac, Chris Dawson-Murphy, Monica Shah, Alex Wells and others from All Bodies Dance Project for impromptu performances, announced by a carnival of drumming from Bloco Energia. There was a long list of art exhibitions and demonstrations where people could watch stone carving, build a tiny Japanese box at Opus under the instruction of artist Suzan Lee, learn about Ikebana floral art, or make maple syrup from sap. For good measure, there was an endless supply of food from various restaurants and a “Winterrupted Cocktail” from Liberty Distillery.
Winterruption is also known for its skilled face-painters such as First Nations artist Randy Tait who has been part of the festival almost as long as it has been around. After seeing some of the beautiful designs on faces, it’s easy to understand why there’s always a patient lineup at that tent.
A space called the Forge was a new addition to this year’s features, proving that parking garages can indeed be things of beauty. The space, with high ceilings of ancient wooden beams, resembled an urban artist’s studio. In fact, the only thing that gave its original purpose away was the parking spot lines.
A stage was set up in one end of the Forge with a soup station in the middle where visitors could warm up with vegetable offerings from Rebel Kitchen. On the other side was a kids’ area called Cardboard Island: Imagined Landscapes. It was a popular station, proving parents of 1970s kids were right when they said cardboard made for far better toys than anything store-bought. The tables were packed at all times with children making Granville Island-inspired buildings that were added to an area that soon resembled a mini city made out of brown heavy duty paper.
All the while, artist Ola Volo, a graduate of long-time Granville Island tenants Emily Carr University of Art + Design, painted a mural on the back wall (Emily Carr is vacating after decades to move into their new digs on Great Northern Way this year).
“This festival has always been about art in unusual places,” said Fraser. “People always love the variety. There are so many festivals based around a specific theme so this one’s really about exploration and discovering many different things. You may discover flamenco in a sculpture studio, or modern dance in a concrete plant. If you’re a huge jazz fan you can go sit in at Performance Works and absorb it all day long. You can consume as much, or as little, as you want.”
Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»experienced a harsher winter than usual this year, added Fraser, another reason why so many attend the Winterruption.
“People particularly appreciate the festival especially after Snowmaggedon and Snowmaggedon Two this year.”
