MANITOULIN—The Island is home to an eclectic group of artists and artisans and each year the Manitoulin Fine Arts Association holds the Manitoulin Art Tour, showcasing the work from one end to the other. This year the tour takes place from 10 am to 4 pm, July 18, 19 and 20.

“The work the Island produces is just amazing,” said Manitoulin Art Tour organizer Judy Boyd. “You can get just about any kind of artwork, whether it is a painting, sculpture, photography, pottery, woodwork or jewellery—the art tour has it all.”

There are 28 locations available to visit this year, with more than 49 artists exhibiting their works. “There are 49 individual artists,” said Ms. Boyd, “but that doesn’t include the galleries.” The locations on the Manitoulin Art Tour run from Barrie Island to South Baymouth.

The galleries and other group locations offer an opportunity to check out a number of artists and artisans in one place, but the idea of the art tour is to encourage people to visit many locations spread out across the Island. So, this year the Manitoulin Art Tour has a new option—bingo cards.

“That is new this year,” said Ms. Boyd. “People are being encouraged to fill out their cards with as many locations as they can and then hand them in for prizes. The idea is to encourage people to go many of the smaller studios rather than just hitting those places that have a group of artists.” There are several locations to drop off your bingo cards.

There are not many communities on Manitoulin that do not have at least one art tour location to drop in on. The brochures, with map, locations and brief descriptions, can be accessed online at ManitoulinArt.com or you can pick one up at the NEMI Welcome Centre in Little Current (near the swing bridge) or any of the many participating artist studios. The centre-page spread of the second section of this newspaper (Pages 4A-5A) also features the art tour map.

“The furthest away is number one, Barrie Island,” said Ms. Boyd. Enid Runnalls welcomes visitors to the studio in her farmhouse to check out the many works she has created in a variety of media inspired by the Island’s countryside.

“Putting the art tour together is a lot of work every year,” noted Ms. Boyd, who is also president of the Manitoulin Fine Art Association, but she adds that it is well-worth it to showcase what Manitoulin artists and artisans have to offer.