VIDEO: ‘Art Crawl at the Hall’ in Fort Langley

Brigitte Seib said the idea for the “Art Crawl at the Hall” event at the historic Fort Langley Community Hall came about as a result of a conversation with local artist Susan McClain.

“We thought we needed to get more arts and culture on the front lawn of the hall,” said Seib, executive director of the Fort Langley historic community hall and president of Creative Compass Society.

“We just put the word out on the hall Facebook page and the community Facebook page.”

It came together in a matter of a few weeks, and on a sunny Sunday afternoon, Oct. 3, the front lawn of the hall at 9167 Glover Rd. hosted five local artists, including McClain, with live music provided through Creative Compass Society by local performers Tom Hammel, Tom Welsh, Dave Messer and Mark Schurch.

Running for four hours, it was an all-volunteer effort, with donations accepted for the musicians.

All the performers and artists were from Langley.

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More than five artists had registered, but there were some last-minute cancellations, Seib explained.

“It’s starting out small,” Seib told the Langley Advance Times.

As a proof of concept, the approach of having art outdoors, where passersby can watch painters at work, was a success, with positive comments from visitors, and a number of sales by the participating artists.

“I was impressed by the community support,” said McClain.

“A lot of kids, parents and grandchildren were hanging out, enjoying the music.”

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Seib expects the “cozy community” art show will be repeated, but probably not till next spring.

“I think we will [organize another],” Seib predicted, adding it will continue to be Langley-centric in its choice of participants.

“We want to keep it local,” Seib remarked.

More photos from the event can be viewed online at the Langley Advance Times Facebook page.