Art by the River draws thousands

Emma Fleming was one of the plein air artists at Art by the River. 

An end-of-summer favourite returned to Amherstburg for its 59^th year.

Art by the River was held at Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada over the weekend and drew thousands of people over the two days. The event is presented by and is a fundraiser for the Gibson Gallery.

Crowds stream through Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada at Art by the River.

Tracy Atkinson, office administrator for the Gibson Gallery, was pleased with how it went. She noted there were a total of 177 vendors.

“We’ve had the most vendors we’ve ever had,” she said. “The entertainment is amazing. We had a line-up of people wanting to get in. That’s a good sign.”

Artists and artisans were mainly from around Windsor-Essex County, though Atkinson stated there were some from the Greater Toronto Area and one from outside the province. 

Sandra Ellis paints as Meredith and Margo Sanger watch.

“Manitoba is the farthest (vendor),” she said.

The bulk of the vendors are returnees from last year, Atkinson added, estimating about 75 per cent were at Art by the River in 2025. Like most years, there was a wide variety of artists and artisans.

“There’s a little bit of everything,” said Atkinson. “You can get anything you want here.”

With next year’s Art by the River being the 60^th annual, the Gibson Gallery is planning special attractions in conjunction with Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada. Atkinson pointed out that every Art by the River has been at Fort Malden.

“It’s quite a partnership between us,” said Atkinson. “We’re looking forward to doing different things. Next year, we hope to be doing things bigger and better.”

In addition to the vendors and entertainment, there was the return of the plein air art competition, food, cannon firings and the kids’ zone. 

Local author John Schlarbaum returned to his vendor position along the Detroit River and reported there was a good amount of people streaming by.

“We’ve had steady traffic all day,” Schlarbaum said the afternoon of Aug. 29. “This year, it seems to be a very steady crowd.”

Weather took a slight turn the next day, with rain impacting part of the day though crowds picked up once the rain moved out of the area.

Schlarbaum believed people were enjoying themselves, noting the people walking by with bags and artwork in their hands.

“It’s good to see people supporting Canadian artists and artisans,” said Schlarbaum. 

Sales of his books were reported to be good, with Schlarbaum stating people were responsive to his books on the “Steve Cassidy” character and the books that are set in Amherstburg. 

Elizabeth MacDonald was one of the plein air artists on hand. 

“It’s one of my favourite locations to paint,” she said of Amherstburg.

MacDonald said her plein air artist group enjoys painting in King’s Navy Yard Park and appreciates opportunities to paint inside of Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada.

“To be able to get in Fort Malden to paint is a big bonus,” she said.

MacDonald said early returns on attendance was good.

“I’m enjoying myself,” she said, adding she has been there every year that there is been a plein air art competition.

“It’s the atmosphere of the event,” MacDonald added. “Everyone is cordial. I get to see people I haven’t seen in years. I enjoy being outside.”

Emma Fleming was another plein air artist on hand, noting she also was a plein air artist in the Amherstburg Art Crawl. The latter event taught her to paint faster and that was something that translated to Art by the River. 

It was her second year painting at Art by the River, but Fleming noted she helped with the event when she worked for the Gibson Gallery. She said she likes seeing the variety of arts and crafts on hand.

Fleming added she went to the Kingston Art Festival this year and saw artists there she knew from Art by the River.

“It’s nice to connect with other Ontario artists,” she said.

 Sandra Ellis was painting on one side of the waterfront path while her booth was on the other side. It was the first time she set up a vendor booth in addition to painting.

“I knew what spot I wanted,” said Ellis. “It was available. I was so lucky.”

Ellis added “people are amazing” and were happy to be in the beautiful weather on Saturday. 

Ober-Rae Livingstone was painting just north of Ellis’ location and the weather helped.

“It’s the perfect day for being outside and painting and having people stop by asking questions,” said Livingstone. “It’s been fun.”

Livingstone said he enjoys encouraging children to paint, even letting them take a few brush strokes on his work, and also wants to help parents inspire their children.

Amherstburg resident Joe Perz was in his second year as a vendor, reporting he sold two paintings in the first couple of hours. He also reported a lot of people going by his booth.

“It’s a good mix of customers, young and old,” said Perz. “It’s a good crowd and a good mixture of people.”

Perz said he began painting as a hobby roughly six years ago.

Joe Perz was one of the artists at Art by the River.

The Gibson Gallery is located at 140 Richmond St. in Amherstburg. Their current exhibit is “The Zen Freakshow” by artist Jay Raven with that running through Sept. 6. After that, Robert MacLellan and Stephen Gibb present “On the Wall, Off the Wall 3” from Sept. 10-27 with a reception Sept. 20 from 2-4 p.m.

Velvet Groove performs Saturday on the barracks porch at Art by the River. It was held at Fort Malden National Historic Site of Canada.

For more information on the Gibson Gallery, visit www.gibsonartgallery.com or call 519-736-2826.

Art by the River draws thousands

By Ron Giofu