Starry Night has grown a lot in its 14 years.
When Orillia's annual art studio and gallery tour began, it was very much about “paintings and bigger names,” said Sarah Csekey.
It has since diversified in step with the local arts community, she said.
“We’ve been able to jump forward in our interpretation of art.”
Csekey’s approach is indeed her own. While many filtered in and out of the 36 venues that took part in Saturday night’s event, checking out art hanging on the walls, Csekey went wild. On a strip of sod in the alleyway beside Verona Coffee Co. on Peter Street, 256 of her “ground fairies” drew a crowd.
“I wanted to bring the forest into the city, which is tricky when it’s all concrete,” Csekey said.
So, she purchased six rolls of sod for her “Forest Friends in the Wild” display.
Csekey has been fashioning the fantastical figurines for a couple of years, but this was her first time taking part in Starry Night.
She used to write a column for the Packet & Times. When she retired her byline, she was left with an artistic void – one that needed to be filled with creative writing. So, she gives each of her fairies a name and a back story. Sometimes, after placing them in the wild (as can be seen on her Facebook page), she leaves the biodegradable fairies there.
“Look down when you’re hiking,” she cautioned. “You might find one.”
Art lovers don’t have to go into the wilderness to discover something interesting. They can head down the alleyway on Mississaga Street, between Tre Sorelle and 125 Breakfast Club, and check out the assortment of work at the Coach House Gallery.
Not everyone ventures off the beaten path, and gallery owner Judy Fontyn Sugg said an event like Starry Night is “great for exposure” for a place like hers, which sells and displays art created by her and others in town.
“People aren’t really good at coming down alleyways,” she said with a laugh. “It’s really good for people to know where I am.”
This was Fontyn Sugg’s third time taking part in Starry Night, since opening in the summer of 2016. The annual showcase of the arts community is invaluable, she said, as it introduces both locals and out-of-towners to the rich diversity of art Orillia has to offer.
“It’s really important for Orillia,” she said. “Orillia doesn’t have enough (buyers) to handle the amount of art in this town.”
She would like to see bus tours organized to bring people in from places like Toronto to discover what the Sunshine City has to offer, artistically.
Compared to galleries in many large cities, “they would think our prices are fantastic in Orillia,” she said, “and we have so many different types of art here.”
