Penticton’s Ignite the Arts Festival got the creative juices flowing for many on Saturday, April 2, when the Sculpture Contest officially kicked off at Okanagan Lake Park.
The inaugural edition of the contest was such a grand success that even the designated judges couldn’t pick just one winner.
Two separate teams shared the $200 prize when the event’s co-winners were announced at 4 p.m.
Competing in the contest was secondary for one team, though. Instead, it was about building a sculpture that could bring an entire community together.
“Today is about being in harmony with each other,” said Pat Field, the leader of Team Harmony at the festival’s sculpture contest.
“Because of the Ukraine situation, it’s time to sit down, be at peace and think about the people over there. We want to send good energy to them.”
Field’s team used driftwood from the Similkameen River to create one of their sculptures.
Sculpture teams began working on their pieces at 2 p.m. and had until approximately 3:20 p.m. to finish before the judge’s deliberated for almost half an hour in picking the winner.
A car sculpture and world-inspired piece emerged victorious as the co-winners of the competition.
The inaugural Ignite the Arts Festival began on March 25. In what’s described as a nine-day celebration of arts and culture, the festival’s sculpture contest was slated as one of the final weekend’s headline events.
READ ALSO: Ignite the Arts Festival ready bring Penticton together
A total of 70 performances across six different Penticton venues make up the event, which is scheduled to end with an after-party at Slackwater Brewing on Sunday night.
Penticton Art Gallery curator Paul Crawford told the Western News that he expects the final turnout number to be over 1,000 people.
READ MORE: Inaugural edition of Ignite the Arts Festival lights up Penticton
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