March of the Crows :: Art in the Open

My three crows ready for the parade!

A few days ago, we attended a free workshop at the Confederation Centre of the Art to make crow costumes and masks. It was a great creative process and we loved it. 

There was a lot of materials to work with, all types of black fabric, masks, umbrellas, feathers, sticks, and more. We were told to take whatever we liked and make our own costumes and masks. We were show a few examples from the previous year and given some ideas. Here are a few photos from the workshop:

Our table with the materials we picked

Adrienne took this leftover umbrella part and decorated it
with lace, ribbons, and sticky red jewels.

Celeste working on her walking stick. 

Why crows? Charlottetown has a big population of crows. They have been around for 100 years. When we first moved here, we noticed them right away. We jokingly called them "black chickens" because they seemed so big to us! They are everywhere in the city and aren't afraid of humans. You can hear them especially in the morning and in the evening. 

The crows fly to Victoria Park every evening and so the parade took us from the Confederation Centre to Victoria Park. We passed by several of the Art in the Open exhibits on our way. We made lots of noise and got a lot of attention!

Andre and his mask, he spray painted and added feathers 

Adrienne and her feathered gloves (Celeste in the background)

Me, at Victoria Park

Between holding my umbrella in one hand and my decorated stick in the other, I didn't take many photos of the Art in the Open, but here are a couple. The event was amazing and we didn't even see everything!

"Capture" : a giant web hung between two trees
by Gerald Beaulieu in Rochford Square

"Collect Call" by Laura MacPherson
also in Rochford Square

"Wonderland Labyrinth" by Lori Joy Smith and Catherine Miller

Back on Victoria Row after the parade, we enjoyed more of the Art in the Open. We watched Yo-Glow, a show with three young men doing tricks with glow in the dark yo-yos. We also saw the "Window Ballet: The Island Nevermind", which was really neat. Several performers danced or sang in the windows of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery.

There was a large sculpture involving a big crane holding a giant bag of ice called "Cryosphere" by Sarah Saunders:

One end of Victoria Row had a tent set up with the "Creativity Project". There was a line up and a limit of six people at one time in the tent, so we didn't stay very long but I wish I could have stayed longer! It was a very peaceful, inspiring, and interesting environment created by Jill McCormack, Julie Love, Janice Mcguigan, Janeen McGuigan, and Rachel Hicken. I did take a couple of minutes to write a message and put in the big bottle on the floor. 

Art in the Open was an amazing event, we are looking forward to next year. We might take part of the crow parade again or do the lantern procession!