While this year’s Mariposa Folk Festival has been cancelled, an art project to honour the event’s 60-year legacy is moving forward.
Streets Alive, a program of the Orillia and District Arts Council, will include 28 hippie van sculptures that will be placed downtown. The goal was to have the project coincide with the festival, which was set to take place in July.
When Streets Alive founder Leslie Fournier learned of the festival’s cancellation, she was “disappointed but not surprised.”
She reached out to festival organizers to find out what they thought of the Streets Alive art installation going forward.
“They agreed that everyone needs and wants that creativity on the streets,” Fournier said. “We all are craving music and art and festivals — all that great community connection.”
The project will also feature 30 peace signs placed on posts downtown and 20 smaller peace signs in store windows.
Fournier has seen a number of the van and peace sign designs and said they are “amazing.”
“I think the public is going to be in for an incredible surprise when it comes to the van panels,” she said, noting artists were tasked with depicting the exterior of the van on one side and the interior on the other. “The 3D element and the added, interesting hippie pieces are going to be really fun. It’s going to be one of the most colourful projects for Streets Alive.”
Fournier expects the sculptures will be placed downtown in early June. They will remain there until Thanksgiving.
As usual, members of the public will be able to vote for their favourite pieces.
A public launch event is typically held for Streets Alive projects, but it won’t be the same this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers are working on plans for an alternative celebration and details will be released later.
“We’ll try to make it festive and special for the artists and the public,” Fournier said.
She thanked everyone who has supported the project, including presenting sponsor Orillia Volkswagen.
More information about Streets Alive can be found on its Facebook page.
