The small town of Wells, nestled in the Cariboo Mountains, will come alive with colour, music and fun as the ArtsWells festival returns after a six-year hiatus.
"I can't think of a more rich and rewarding way to start your summer," said Island Mountain Arts' executive director Elyssia Sasaki. "Live music, it emboldens us all, it grows our hearts. And theatre and things like that allow us to laugh and cry and think. Films allow us to see different perspectives of people. I think that there's so much that the festival brings that not only hopes to help people but also hopes to just remind them how beautiful it is to be alive."
Weekend passes, day tickets and camping passes for the festival are available to purchase online. In the past, the festival has attracted people from across Canada and beyond. The lineup for the 2025 festival is online now at ArtsWells.com.
"We've got the Sunset Theatre Cabarette, which is a bite-sized version of the Sunset Theatre's Cabaret and that's all local artists," Sasaki said, touching on a few local Wells artists performing at the festival.
"We've got JP Winslow who's doing Sherlock Homes Alone as a theatre piece and JP lives here in Wells. Bob Campbell is going to be hosting one of the 'in the rounds' (workshops) called big songs for small towns,"
Aside from those local artists, artists with roots in the Cariboo and Prince George like Ben Lamb-Yorski, No Big D, Mercedes Minck and more will be performing. The festival will also bring in artists from across Canada with some coming from the territories, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces.
"It's very 'choose your own adventure,'" Sasaki said. "There's tons of different music styles, there's tons of venues in beautiful old historic buildings in Wells. It's a weekend of much variety."
One of the fun and unique performances at the festival will be a live-scored Mario Kart battle where racers will rush down famous tracks in the classic video game. The Sunset Theatre will host the event with the video game being projected on a large screen. Trent Freeman’s Stringband will be play fast, fun, hectic bluegrass tunes while racers hit classic tracks like Rainbow Road and Koopa Troopa Beach.
ArtsWells hasn't been held since before the pandemic with COVID-19 preventing it for several years. Last year, the festival was just about ready to kick off when the Antler Creek Fire caused the evacuation of Wells and pushed the festival to this year. That means this will be Sasaki's first ArtsWells as she didn't start with Island Mountain Arts until 2020.
"I am very much excited. I know that it may be different potentially from what people remember in 2019 but I also know that the world is different from where we were in 2019 and I'm hopeful that the appreciation of music and art and theatre and film and all those things and all those things will still be at the core of what this event brings to the town."
Of the many performances she's excited to see, Sister Ray, a project from Edmonton songwriter Ella Coyes and Major Funk, a Yukon band are high among them.
"In one of the afternoons they're going to be doing a Price is Right-style game show called The Funk is Tight," she said. The game show will have prizes donated from businesses across the Cariboo region, contestants will play mini-games bidding on items and if they reach the final showcase showdown they'll have a shot at winning the grand mystery prize.
People who are interested in helping the festival run smoothly can volunteer, 12 hours of volunteer time earns volunteers a pass for the festival people can sign up to volunteer on the festival's website. Locals to the Wells and Barkerville area may also be eligible for a local pass to the event, people interested can email artswellsfestival@imarts.com.
"It is a little town where people do live year round. If you've never been before, it will be an exciting gathering of friends old and new. Intimate venues, places and spaces in which the lines between who's artist and who's participant is sort of blurred, which is really, I think a great way to experience art," Sasaki said.
The festival of all things art is coming up fast. All of the information for tickets, the line up, camping, FAQs and more can be found at ArtsWells.com.
