Welcome! 

At our annual Elora Plein Air Festival, Artists are invited to capture the charm and warmth of our region. Discover heritage buildings and historic villages; dramatic gorges, lazy rivers, and hidden streams; rolling hillsides and picturesque farms. 

• Wednesday, May 14th through Saturday, May 17th discover artists painting outdoors in Fergus, Elora, and the surrounding countryside.  You may even find them out at night capturing a nocturne view.
• There will be other fun events happening throughout the five days of the festival, such as walking tours, film, music, and great food.
• Collective Art Outdoors on Saturday, May 17th, between 1 and 3 pm: Be part of group creativity and stay for a few minutes or the whole time.  All ages are welcome, families too! An experienced mural artist and art teacher, Meredith Blackmore, invites you to be part of creating both a painted mural and a collective nature collage. All outdoors under in Bissell Park.
• Saturday, May 17th, 1:30 pm through 4:30 pm – Fergus Quick Paint: A fast-paced and fun competition -the artists have 2 hours to complete their painting and submit it for the Quick Paint judging. Our Quick Paint will be in the beautiful downtown core of Fergus where artists will capture the street scenes, bridges, and river views. Templin Gardens will be the ‘home base’  where the show and sale of the quick paint works will take place and the judge will award the Best Quick Paint prize.
• Sunday, May 18th, noon through 5 pm – Elora Plein Air Festival Show and Sale: This is the culmination of the artists’ efforts and they are ready to share and celebrate. In the gallery, there’s a buzz of excitement as people come in to view and buy the beautiful work the artists created over the previous 4 days.  Meet the artists, discover a piece you can’t resist, and just enjoy the show!

• A gallery filled with art created en plein air over the last 4 days will be for show and sale and the place will be buzzing with energy and excitement.
• Enjoy the show, meet the artists, and buy a piece that gives you joy!
• You can vote for your favourite in the show between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. for the People’s Choice award.
• Our 2025 award presentations happen Saturday evening at the ‘Reveal’, a ticketed event.
  All award news will be posted when the sale opens at noon on Sunday.  The gallery will include a ‘feature wall’ with award winning pieces.

The Grand Prize winner receives $1000

2nd Place winner $500

3rd Place winner $300

People’s Choice Award $200

Best Nocturne $200
Best Student Work $200
Honorable Mentions $200 each
Best Quick Paint $200

Valerie Kent is a working artist who has been painting, exhibiting, and selling her artwork in art galleries around the world and teaching art for over 50 years.

She has a background in diverse mediums such as oil, acrylic, and watercolour along the spectrum from realistic to abstract.

She studied art at Concordia University in Montreal and studied printmaking and writing at the Writers’ Workshop, the University of Iowa earning a Master of Fine Arts.  She graduated from the Faculty of Education at the University of Toronto,  studied Training for Trainers at St. Francis Xavier University, and Guidance at York University.  She received Principal Qualifications at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.  She was a Certified Golden Artist Educator.

She taught all levels of art:  elementary, middle school, high school, college, and university, at art societies, on cruises, and at outdoor plein-air workshops in France and Italy.  She has taught 100s of workshops, both online and live, and created courses for https://www.curiousmondo.com.

Valerie has juried art shows and competitions, live and online, for art societies and magazines.  She now teaches art at Trent

Valerie was the judge for the 2023 Elora Plein Air Festival.

www.valeriekent.com

Elora’s Stan Jaychuk is known as an unwavering supporter of local arts and a lover of literature. Unknown to many is that he is an award-winning portrait and plein air painter.

As a young man, Stan found an artistic mentor and tutor, Hazel Wellington (Devereaux), a close friend of A.Y. Jackson from the Group of Seven. His portrait of Chief Treetop from the Six Nations won the W. Ross MacDonald Award presented to him by A.Y. Jackson.

It was as a business systems analyst he met his lifetime influence, his beloved wife, Shirley Dilworth, while visiting a client company office. An artist herself, she encouraged his painting, and eventually, they moved out of Toronto to be surrounded by the rhythms of nature in a community of creative people where he could “capture the essence of what speaks to him” and “allow the moment to guide him”.

When Beverley Cairns and Barb Lee started making their dream of a plein air festival a reality, Stan’s enthusiasm and encouragement sustained them. Stan sponsored the First Prize award the year the Elora Plein Air Festival launched.

Aerial video of the Grand River running through the beautiful towns of Elora and Fergus Ontario.

Produced by Tivoli Films Inc.