Annual Tree Lighting
Bring your festive cheer!
An tradition we look forward to every year! Decorating the tree and celebrating its lighting at the Picton cenotaph. We sing carols with the ABC Choir, enjoy be free cookies and hot chocolate, and facilitate the sharing of free books from County Kids Read!
Wear a Santa hat and bring your festive cheer!
Tree lighting at 5 PM sharp!
Thank you to the Picton BIA and Dan Claxton Electric for supporting us in this annual tradition!
10x10 Show
The biggest show of small art!
It's the biggest show of small art in the County! The fourth annual 10 x 10 art show and fundraiser took place at the County Arts Lab in the Armoury, from Thursday November 13 and ran until November 22. All works were for sale for $110 plus HST. Sales are divided between the DOI ($60), County Arts ($20) and artists may receive $30 or donate their portion to the DOI.
Lit Up: Oeno after Dark
An illuminated wonderland with over 40 sculptures lit against the night sky!
This Thanksgiving weekend, join us for LIT UP: Oeno After Dark On October 11th, Oeno Gallery’s Sculpture Garden transforms into a 3-acre illuminated wonderland with over 40 sculptures lit against the night sky Wander winding paths as firecones blaze, sculptures shine, and performances fill the air with sound and magic Powered by The Department of Illumination, we’re deLIGHTed to present our ABC Choir, and you can also take in performances from North Fire Circus, interactive percussion by Jesse Stewart, and pioneering electric violinist Dr. Draw. Tickets on sale now!
Zucchini 500
Make a zucchini race car and challenge your friends to a race!
Our inaugural Zucchini 500 races took place in September 2025 Taste! Community Grown. Participants made zucchini race cars and challenged their friends to a race down the track!
We'd love to bring the Zucchini 500 to your special event - get in touch for more information.
Quilting the Progression of Queer Rights in Canada
Join exceptional artist and activist Bill Stearman for a talk about this incredible project!
We're so honoured to have exceptional artist and activist Bill Stearman on our Board of Directors. Bill recently spent ten weeks travelling Canada speaking with quilt groups and Queer groups about 'quiltivism,' teaching workshops and interviewing Queer seniors about their lives during decades of significant change in Queer rights. On September 14 at 7 PM Bill will be giving a talk at The Andrew about this incredible project, with admission by donation to The Department of Illumination. This is bound to be a fascinating presentation, please join us! We'll be accepting donations by cash, cheque, debit or credit.
WHEN: September 14 at 7 PM
WHERE: The Andrew, Picton
The Delhi Park Project
A weekly art activation in Delhi Park with a community pageant finale.
From May 17 to August 9, 2025, you’ll find us in Picton’s Delhi Park three days a week, offering free drop-in workshops centered on collaborative art-making and nature appreciation.
Thursdays & Fridays 10-5, Saturdays 11:30-6:30 with a community picnic every Saturday 4:30-6:30
Drop by any time - all are welcome!
Delhi Park is a 31-acre green space in the heart of Picton, and a stone’s throw from The Department of Illumination studio. Starting in the spring of 2025 the DOI will begin our self-appointed artist residency in the park, inviting the community to join us as we explore the flora and fauna, as well as the natural and human history of this place, seeking to deepen our knowledge and find its hidden magic. From May 17 through August, we will spend three days a week in the park, offering a mix of free drop-in workshops centered on collaborative art-making. The art we create will be inspired by the place itself and shaped by the participants and the professional artists leading the process. We will weave these elements together to create a large-scale community pageant that will help tell the story of this beautiful public space. The Delhi Pageant will be presented for free August 23, 2025 (rain date Aug. 24).
What is a pageant? It is the story of a community told by a community, performed outdoors using elements such as procession, mask, giant puppets, spectacle, chorus, etc. We hope you will join us as we gather to create music, dances, storytelling, puppets, performances, costumes, installations and more!
Watch this space for updates, or sign up for our newsletter.
SUPPORTED BY:
John M. & Bernice Parrott Foundation
THE ELDERBERRY FUND
Public Art
We love creating art in public spaces. Available for hire.
We love creating art in public spaces - whether that’s painting murals or picnic tables, decorating our town Christmas tree, or animating public spaces with our giant puppets or projects like Boxtopia (a creative cardboard kingdom for kids). Get in touch if you’d like to know more!
Boxtopia
A creative cardboard kingdom for kids and adults alike!
Boxtopia is our creative cardboard kingdom for kids! We show up with as many cardboard boxes as we can get our hands on and a whole bunch of art supplies, and we help kids create their dream box forts!
We do this project several times a year, often bringing Boxtopia to festivals or other special events. Boxtopia can be themed (ie: farm, pirates, circus) or just pure fun and imagination. Contact us if you want us to bring the magic of Boxtopia to your special event! Fun fact - adults love it, too!
Craftivism
Workshops were co-hosted by: Nella Casson and Bill Stearman, creating a series of large fabric banners with activist themes.
Craftivism was a free workshop series in winter 2024, with facilitator fees funded by County Arts.
Taking place at The Department of Illumination Studio, we created a series of large fabric banners with activist themes. Workshops were co-hosted by lead artist Nell Casson and supported by Bill Stearman, longtime activist and award-winning quilter. Each banner highlights causes chosen by the participants. The banners were created using a variety of media and techniques.
Scarecrow Festival
A fun group activity building functional scarecrows from old clothes, straw and imagination.
Thanksgiving Weekend! {{ A fall event dedicated to making scarecrows. A fun group activity building functional scarecrows from old clothes, straw and imagination. Thank you to our sponsors for supporting us with materials for many years. }}
After 13 years of hosting Prince Edward County’s annual Scarecrow Festival, we have passed the torch to our friends at North Fire Circus for the 2024 event which will be happening at Macaulay Museum with proceeds supporting their production The Witches. To the countless people who attended and supported the Scarecrow Festival while it was in our care, thank you for the all years of fall fun, and we hope you will continue to support this community event.
Night Watch at Base31
Our biggest and brightest illuminated adventure to date.
Night Watch was The Department of Illumination’s biggest and brightest project to date: an illuminated adventure at Base31!
After nightfall, visitors could transport themselves into the nighttime world of illuminated spectacle. Equipped with a magical lantern, they would embark on a journey through 10 immersive exhibits brought to life with dynamic lighting, spectacular video projections and a soundscape for adventure.
This one-of-a-kind experience ran for two seasons, 2023 & 2024.
ALL ABOARD
A Port Hope artist residency, working with the community to create a tiny cardboard version of itself.
In September 2022 Krista Dalby and Nella Casson did a month-long artist residency at Critical Mass Art: Port Hope, working with the community to create a tiny cardboard version of itself! It was such a special project, and we are so grateful to Critical Mass for the opportunity, as well as support from The Prince Edward County Arts Council and VIA Rail Canada. Thanks to Two Blue Shirts Productions for this sweet video!
Alvar
A festival celebrating this unique and precious ecosystem of the Great Lakes region.
AN ECOLOGICALLY-INSPIRED ARTS FESTIVAL
In August 2022, The Department of Illumination presented ALVAR, a festival celebrating this unique and precious ecosystem of the Great Lakes region. We held sunrise dance parties, created eco-inspired art and activities, presented live music & finished up with some secret popsicles.
Artists: Nella Casson, Krista Dalby, Andrea Piller, Chrissy Poitras, Victoria Taylor | VTLA Studio, Kyle Topping, Bay Woodyard. Music: Teilhard Frost and Roper & Roper. Dance: Arwyn Carpenter Hands-on nature exploration: Cheryl Chapman of NatureHood-PEPtBO. Bead talk: Moira Gaddes
Funded by the Government of Canada
Venue Sponsor
Hands-on Nature Exploration courtesy of
WILD THING: a celebration of biodiversity
Bringing together the arts and sciences to create a delightful celebration of the natural world around us.
In 2022 we partnered with South Shore Joint Initiative to bring together the arts and sciences to create a delightful celebration of the natural world around us. We ran a series of school workshops where children learned about local species and created artistic interpretations; we hosted The Society of Stitchers, an embroidery club that collaboratively created a quilt of at-risk local species, and then we had a public celebration in Picton’s Benson Park with live music from KASHKA and That’s What She Said, crafts, the unveiling of our biodiversity quilt and a community procession.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
Join our HERD!
Transform your bodies and bicycles into a joyful herd of beasts! We set off in a parade along the Millennium Trail, in PEC.
In September 2021 we hosted two events called Join our HERD! that took place in Picton and Consecon.
We invited the community to transform their bodies and bicycles into a joyful herd of beasts. We set off in a parade along the Millennium Trail, encountering a few surprises along the way, and culminating in a HERD celebration with live music, food and drink.
Presented by ====\\DeRAIL, Join our HERD! provided a much-needed expression of joy and playfulness, while raising awareness of the County’s histories, ecologies and the varied landscapes adjacent to the Millennium Trail. Where time is something to be considered rather than counted, the public was invited to add their own layer of meaning to this heritage landscape beyond its functional use as a recreation corridor. This initiative explored the untapped potential of the trail as a venue for artistic expression.
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS + SUPPORTERS
The County of Prince Edward, Tourism Industry Association of Ontario, The County Foundation, Briarwood Development Group, Sarah Crawford + David Kirkwood, PEC Trails Committee, Ontario Provincial Police – Prince Edward County, Consecon Honey House Café, Parsons Brewing Company, Elizabeth Crombie, Noble Beast Farms, Prince Edward County Arts Council, Ameliasburgh Councillor Bill McMahon, Hillier Councillor Ernest Margetson, Picton Farm Supply, The Wellington Times, Picton Gazette, Watershed Magazine and Life Au Lait.
PLASTIC BITES BACK
Part of a water parade; Art that addresses the topic of plastic pollution.
The Department of Illumination was commissioned by Kingston’s Calliope Collective to create a float for HYDRA, a pilot project that took place in June 2021 in the waters adjacent Douglas Fluhrer Park. Designed as a ‘water parade,’ the overall theme of the event was water, and The DOI was asked to address the topic of plastic pollution. We wanted to create something beautiful while at the same time addressing the pervasiveness of plastic pollution in our waterways. The resulting work is a 13-foot rather menacing fish with gnashing jaws entitled Plastic Bites Back.
For six months we solicited our community to bring us their plastic recycling, and we collected more than 200 laundry detergent and water jugs which were painstakingly cut into fish scales. Lead artists Krista Dalby and Nella Casson constructed a lightweight frame out of cane, bamboo and wood, and then covered it in the plastic scales.
In June 2023 we participated in the next evolution of HYDRA: The Spirit of Water. More than 30 artists came together to contribute a dozen art pieces/performances which collectively told a story on water at Kingston Mill Locks.
Ice Box
A magical winter wonderland filled with art, music, dancing, installations and surprises galore. PLUS concerts, workshops, snow dances and cozy campfires!
ICE BOX was a winter festival that we held in 2019 and 2020 on the grounds of Macaulay Heritage Park. It was a magical winter wonderland filled with art, music, dancing and surprises galore, featuring five all-new art installations each year, plus concerts, workshops, snow dances and cozy campfires, all in a charming picture-perfect setting. In 2021, due to the pandemic, we offered an at-home version of the festival.
With so much programming going in collaboration with so many wonderful artists in each Ice Box event, we have a LOT of amazing memories!
Safety Dance
Physically distanced, for safety, while getting our groove on. Led by dancer and choreographer Arwyn Carpenter.
The original Safety Dance took place in September 2020 as a joyful antidote to Covid times.
The original Safety Dance took place in September 2020 as a joyful antidote to Covid times, with spaces carefully measured to keep participants physically distanced while getting their groove on. It was led by dancer and choreographer Arwyn Carpenter. The event was made possible thanks to a partnership with Macaulay Heritage Park. In September 2021 we brought the event to Toronto’s East Lynn Park thanks to East End Arts. Want to bring Safety Dance to your community? Get in touch!
TORONTO EDITION
Invited by East End Arts in 2021.
ART IN ISOLATION
A lockdown initiative; for our arts community to share their isolation experiences through creating and showing each other their art.
It was April 2020, and Prince Edward County was in its first Covid-19 lockdown. Many of our artist friends told us that despite having plenty of time on their hands, they were having trouble finding the motivation to make art. Thus was born the Art in Isolation project: an invitation to our arts community to share their isolation experiences through creating and showing each other their art, documenting their unique points of view during a month-long challenge.
When the month came to an end, we selected 90 works by 67 artists that tell the story of this month of our lives, from April 22 to May 22, 2020. As a collection, these works are a record of this remarkable period in the history of our community and a testament to our enduring creativity. We held an outdoor exhibition of these works in Picton’s Armoury Square from February 20 to March 31, 2021, as well as publishing a catalogue, which you can purchase in our shop.
- Mehdi Agahi & Krista Dalby, Curators of Art in Isolation
Papercut Self-Portrait in a Pandemic, by Krista Dalby