John October 8th, 2009
The Sidney Fine Art Show runs from October 16th – 18th at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney. Show hours are from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm Friday and Saturday and 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Sunday. There will be artist demonstrations every day. Saturday October 17th from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm is “Meet the Artists” night with more artist demonstrations, nibbles and a no-host wine bar.
Admission is $5 per day, or $10 for a 3-day pass. Visitors can win fabulous door prizes every day.

The Show is not only a keystone event for the arts community – it provides a significant economic boost to the town of Sidney, the Saanich Peninsula and the Greater Victoria area, and this year, it also anchors “Arts Week in Sidney”. In proclaiming “Arts Week”, Sidney Mayor Larry Cross said:
“The arts provide intellectual stimulation, sensory enrichment and emotional fulfillment. From a very practical standpoint the arts are an important economic force in our Town, bringing visitors who stay with us and enjoy the ambiance of the Town and its character. “
For the weekend of the Show, the restaurants, stores, cafes and galleries of Sidney, as well as other local wineries and restaurants are busy with visitors and locals alike. A free shuttle service ferries visitors between the Show and the waterfront. Visitors can follow the “Sidney Art Walk” in the Show catalogue and take in the many locations where the local business community supports artist by displaying work. They can also admire “Art on the Streets” – power boxes wrapped in art, – as well as many the interpretive signs along the waterfront displaying the richness of Sidney’s history. 

Visitors can also take in Sidney’s first juried public art installation which will be unveiled on October 16th alongside the new Beacon Park Pavilion.
While at the waterfront, visitors can look for living examples of the Town’s crest – the Bufflehead duck. This is the time of year when the birds – the smallest diving ducks in North America – pass through Sidney on their southward migration and many can be seen off the waterfront.
This year, the Show is especially important to the local art community. Not only do artists receive 85% of their sales revenue, but also any surplus from the Show goes directly back to the Community Arts Council of the Saanich Peninsula to support their many diverse programs. At the UBCM Conference in Vancouver last week, Mayor Cross spoke to the Provincial Government about the serious impacts the loss of Gaming Grant funding and other financial support for the arts, culture and recreation was having on local communities, and received strong support from other mayors and council members when he asked that the Government reinstate such funding. These cuts in arts funding make the Show’s contribution even more important this year.