Welcome to the 5th 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. 

We’re waiting here for you!

• Thursday, May 14th through Saturday, May 16th discover artists painting outdoors in Fergus, Elora and surrounds.  You may even find them out at night painting Nocturnes.
• Friday, May 15th and Saturday, May 16th iin the afternoons – Plein Air Painting Demo: Artist and teacher Mary Anna Goetz will show and explain the process and technique of painting ‘en plein air’. Join us on the walking bridge in Elora
• Friday, May 15th in the evening –  Film on a Plate – at the Gorge Cinema, 43 Mill Street W: A fun film, food and drink all for one great price. (Details to follow).
• Saturday, May 16th, 9 am through 1 pm – Fergus Quick Paint: A fast- paced and fun competition -the artists have 2 hours, from 9 am to 11 am to complete a  painting and submit it for the Quick Paint judging. This year’s event happens in the beautiful downtown core of Fergus where artists will capture the street scenes and river views.  The ‘home base’ in Templin Gardens where the judge awards the Best Quick Paint prize and a ‘Pop-Up’ show and sale follow.
• Sunday, May 17th, 1 pm 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 galleries there’s a buzz of excitement as people come in and view all the beautiful works the artists created over the last 3 days.  Meet the artists, discover a piece you can’t resist, vote for your favourite for the People’s Choice award and just enjoy the show!
• The presentation of awards and judge’s remarks start at 2:15.
• Outside, under canopies, discover the work of our budding, young plein air artists from local grade schools. Also on display is the work of high school students in the SHSM program who painted en plein air during the festival.

• Two galleries filled with art created en plein air over the last 3 days will be for show and sale and the place will be buzzing with energy and excitement.
• Enjoy the show, meet the artists and perhaps find a piece that will go home with you!
• You can vote for your favourite in the show between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m.
• Our 2020 judge, Mary Anna Goetz, will present the awards for works  at about 2:20.  The presentation of the People’s Choice award will follow

1st Place winner receives $1000.

2nd Place winner $500.

3rd Place winner $300.

There is also a $200. People’s Choice Award

Best Nocturne $200.
Best rural/agricultural subject $200
Best town subject $200
Best garden $200
Best architectural subject $200
Best river, fishing or bridge subject $200
Best heritage subject $200

Mary Anna Goetz was born in Oklahoma City where she began her art studies as a pupil of her well-known artist parents, Richard and Edith Goetz. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Oklahoma City University, Goetz furthered her studies at the Malden Bridge School of Art; Cape School of Art in Provincetown, MA; and The New York Academy of Art. For four decades Goetz has painted her environs (Oklahoma, New York City, Cape Cod and Woodstock) with a heavily impastoed technique in an impressionist/tonalist style.

Her paintings have been exhibited in solo exhibitions at galleries throughout the US including Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, Newman Galleries, Philadelphia, the James Cox Gallery at Woodstock, and Howell Gallery, Oklahoma City.

Goetz maintains an active teaching schedule and has served on the faculty of the Woodstock School of Art.  She is a member of the New York’s Salmagundi Club and the National Arts Club.

Publications include: Painting Landscapes in Oils (1990, North Light Books), and A Fieldguide to Landscape Painting (DVD).

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

Produced by Tivoli Films Inc.