Skip to main content
Strathearn

Strathearn Art Walk: A family-friendly celebration of art

Beautiful views of the river valley and Edmonton skyline, combined with artistic creations of all sorts, music and family fun—that is the Strathearn Art Walk. What started as a small community event in 2012 is now part of Edmonton’s roster of popular festivals, attracting tens of thousands of people on the second weekend of September every year.

Jenny McAlister is a member of the art walk’s board who has been part of spearheading it since the beginning. She says the event arose out of discussions between the community league and businesses in Strathearn about ways to encourage community building. Those discussions took place against the backdrop of impending changes to the neighbourhood, including early conversations about the building of the Valley Line LRT along 95 Avenue. 

The community league and the business community lit on the idea of an art walk connecting different commercial areas to encourage folks to walk around the neighbourhood. So, in 2012 the Strathearn Art Walk was born. Jenny McAlister says at first, about a dozen artists set up booths along 95 Avenue, so patrons could shop and stroll from one side of Strathearn to the other. 

Within a couple of years though, impending LRT-related construction required a change in venue. That’s when the Strathearn Art Walk moved to the park along Strathearn Drive. That move set it apart from the Whyte Avenue Art Walk and gave it a character of its own. 

Things really took off. Soon, the budget for the one day annual event exceeded the yearly budget for the community league as a whole. The City took notice, and a community event became a festival. 

McAlister says the location is a special part of it and contributes a lot to the festival: “It’s beautiful and super accessible for families. Tons of dogs come to the art walk. Kids are running around and climbing trees. The physical space is very well utilized beyond just the patch of grass we’re hanging out on.”

As far as the art is concerned, McAlister notes there is something for every taste and interest. From paintings to photography, pottery, jewelry, wood carving and metalwork.

“If you are an artist and you have art to sell and show and you can afford 70 dollars for a table, you’re welcome,” says McAlister. “One of the things we pride ourselves on is that we’re non-curated. There’s no selection process. What I think is art is irrelevant… It’s really about creating an opportunity for artists to show and sell their art. What ends up happening then is that we have people who buy a booth and sell their art for the first time ever, right up to professional artists who are at every art sale and show in town.”

And let’s not forget the music. As you amble by the works of art, you can listen to music from a wide range of genres, played and sung by local musicians, including up-and-comers. As McAlister puts it, “the music is an art piece to itself.”

From its humble origins, the Strathearn Art Walk has evolved into a big draw. 2019 was the last time it was a one-day festival, attracting 15,000 patrons. Now, it’s two days. And in 2022, McAlister says each of the two days saw 30,000 visitors.

Is it just the art and music and lovely setting above the river valley that makes the Strathearn Art Walk a success? Or is something about the character of the south-central neighbourhood itself a factor as well? 

McAlister thinks so.

“My sense is there is a real desire for community connections and for knowing your neighbour and knowing each other in Strathearn,” she says. “I think Strathearn is also a fairly diverse neighbourhood. There are really expensive houses and really affordable apartments. So, I think that mix brings a real richness to the neighbourhood.”

Now, success can bring challenges. For example, 30,000 people coming into a neighbourhood like Strathearn creates parking headaches. McAlister hopes the new Valley Line LRT will help remedy that and make the Strathearn Art Walk more accessible to people from other parts of Edmonton.

Leave a Reply