Dawson Trail Art Tour: Experience Art, Heritage, & History

The Dawson Trail Art Tour is back this year on September 17 and 18, 2022! During this free, self-guided tour, experience the work of artists, taking in each diverse form of art like paintings, drawings, written-word, beading, pottery, quilting, jewelry, sculptures, woodcarving, and more. The Tour showcases these works in artists’ home studios and group venues along the Dawson Road – starting at Lorette through Landmark and Ste. Anne, all the way to Ste. Genevieve and Richer.

Immerse Yourself in Art, History, & Programs!

This year, the Dawson Trail Art Tour features twelve artists, six stops, and loads of incredible programs and workshops for participants to enjoy! And don’t forget to pick up your Tour Passport! Fill in your passport and turn it in for a chance to win one of three gift packages, including local arts, crafts and merchandise! Passports will be available at each tour stop.

Check out the lineup of programs:

Doreen Peloquin – Paper-making hands-on workshop using materials such as dried flowers, grasses, bits of ribbon, leaves etc., to enhance the finished product.

Megan Morin – Pottery hand-building demonstrations with impressions.Gail Penner – Live jewelry making on request.

Dave Carty – Demonstration on painting in Gouache, a water-based medium that can be transparent like water colour or opaque, on the substrate illustration board. The demo will include the steps taken to apply and build up Gouache on the illustration board, the specific “handmade’ brushes used, and the advantages of the medium.

Bella Savoie-Kraska – A watercolour lesson on ‘painting birch trees.’ There will be a draw for the lucky winner to take the painting home. Coffee and breakfast cookies available in the mornings.

Robert Freynet – Facemaker on site! Find one or more expressions on the Facemaker (125 possibilities) to create your own artwork that showcases emotion through facial expressions. You can add corresponding speech bubbles to finish your drawing and take with you.

Pierrette Sherwood – Presentations that include the beginnings of the Dawson Trail Arts and Heritage Tour and about the metal art process (tools, gear, creative process), with supporting visuals (digital slideshow and/or video excerpts).Karen Jonsson – Demonstration at the pottery wheel with explanation of the step-by-step process from beginning to finished product.

Melanie Gamache – Borealis Beading prides itself in sharing Métis culture and history with food, nature, and beading. Presentations during the art tour will include information on the evolution of beading from pro-colonialism to present day.

Leiah Bauer – Soap Making demonstration: soap cutting, trimming, infusing, and extracting with botanicals and herbs for colourants and scents.

Casia Schreyer – Nelly-Bean Read Along: Casia Schreyer will be reading her two children’s picture books and answering questions about the creation process. This reading is for kids of all ages, and free colouring pages will be available.

Variety Read Along – Casia Schreyer will be reading from a variety of her books for readers of all ages, as well as talking about the creative process and answering questions about writing and publishing. All of the selections are family-friendly.

Throughout the weekend, there will be a group exhibit and special programming at the Dawson Trail Museum. The group exhibit features Leah Bauer (Apothecandy Soapmaking), Megan Morin (Wild Woods Potter), Melanie Gamache (Borealis Beading), and Dave Carty (visual artist).

About the Dawson Trail Heritage Tour

Explore more than just art during the Tour, but also the fascinating history and stories of the Dawson Trail with the year-round, self-guided Dawson Trail Heritage Tour!

The Dawson Trail Heritage Tour brings to light the natural, cultural and historic legacy of the Dawson Trail, Canada’s first all-Canadian route linking the early Dominion of Canada to the West.

It is a self-driven tour that will have you travelling along a scenic and mostly paved portion of the current Dawson Road from Richer to Lorette, Manitoba. By using the Dawson Trail Art and Heritage Tour website as your guide, you’ll uncover the people, places, stories and events that helped shape our province and country.