Community Meal and DJ Chris Byrne
Saturday June 21st, 11:30am-6:30pm
Join The Department of Illumination from 11:30-4:30 PM as we work on crafting elements for the Delhi Park Project. All are welcome! Stay for a community picnic and live DJ Chris Byrne, from 99.3 County FM’s Global Grooves Radio show, spinning sunny tunes from around the world for our enjoyment from 4:30-6:30; we've got plenty of picnic blankets as well as chairs and tables - let's hang out!
WHEN: Saturday June 21st, 11:30-6:30 (picnic: 4:30-6:30pm)
WHERE: Delhi Park, Picton - across from the community gardens; if driving, use Lalor St entrance.
Canada Day In Benson Park
Tuesday July 1 we are celebrating Canada Day in partnership with The Picton Rec Committee
Join us in Benson Park from 12-4 PM to help us build Boxtopia for Beavers, and contribute your favourite thing about Canada to our collaborative map. There will be lots of activities going on in the park and on Picton Main Street, so make a day of it!
WHEN: Tues, July 1, 12-4
WHERE: Benson Park, Picton
Pride Celebration in the Park
Saturday June 28 we’re celebrating Pride in partnership with Greater Than County Youth Collective!
To participate in the Sidewalk Takeover:
Meet behind Circle K at 11:45 am
Walk starts at 12:00 pm sharp.
The procession will wind up in Delhi Park, so stick around for Pride in the Park from 1–4pm, featuring:
Drag shows & live performances
Yoga & reiki
FREE snow cones, cotton candy & popcorn & swag
Games, crafts & community booths galore
Let’s show what it means to be County Proud. Everyone is welcome—youth, families, allies, and 2SLGBTQIA+ folks.
We'll keep the good vibes going with our weekly community picnic from 4:30 - 6:30.
WHEN: Saturday June 28th, 11:30-6:30
WHERE: Delhi Park, Picton - across from the community gardens; if driving, use Lalor St entrance.
Indigenous Peoples Day Picnic
Saturday June 21st, 11:30am-6:30pm
Join The Department of Illumination on National Indigenous Peoples Day from 1-4:30 PM as we paint banners for the Delhi Park Project incorporating Kanyen'kéha (the Mohawk language). Erica Gray, (Mohawk Wolf Clan from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory), will be on site to help you add some Kanyen'kéha words to your vocabulary. All are welcome! Stay for a community picnic 4:30-6:30; we've got plenty of picnic blankets as well as chairs and tables - let's hang out!
WHEN: Saturday June 21st, 11:30-6:30 (picnic: 4:30-6:30pm)
WHERE: Delhi Park, Picton - across from the community gardens; if driving, use Lalor St entrance.
ABC Choir
A fun and casual choir for those who love singing. Choir director Sam Hirst.
The Aurora Borealis Community Choir, directed by Sam Hirst, is a fun and casual pop-up choir. All are welcome, regardless of age or experience. We won't be meeting again until September 2026, when we will start rehearsing for our performance at The Firelight Lantern Festival.
For more information contact abcchoir@deptofillumination.org
Kids Fashion Workshop 2025
For kids of all ages, make fabulous costumes to wear on the fashion runway!
WHEN: Sunday June 1, 1pm - 4pm
WHERE: DOI Studio, lower level of The Armoury, 206 Main St, Picton
PRICE: FREE! Sponsored by the Picton BIA
**All children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult**
KIDS FASHION SHOW: Friday June 6, 7pm, Armoury Square, 206 Main St.
The Department of Illumination is gearing up for Picton Fashion Week with a Kids Fashion Workshop! ✨ We welcome kids of all ages to dive into our supplies and make fabulous costumes to wear on the fashion runway ✨ Bring your wackiest ideas and wildest creativity!
Supported by:
Community Launch & Picnic
Saturday May 17, 11:30am-6:30pm
Stop by and check out our new solar-powered art trailer! Find out about the Delhi Park Project and how you can get involved. Join the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists (PECFN) at 3 PM as we practice deep observation and launch our “nature square” that we’ll be checking on throughout the season.
From 4:30pm to 6:30pm join us for a community picnic - bring your picnic blankets and food, we'll provide the music and good vibes. All are welcome.
WHEN: Saturday May 17, 11:30-6:30 (picnic: 4:30-6:30pm)
WHERE: Delhi Park, Picton - to the east of the dog park
Community Picnic & Stitchers Celebration
Saturday May 24, 11:30am-6:30pm
Drop-in community artmaking for the Delhi Pageant 11:30-4:30; Society of Stitchers picnic 4:30-6:30. Join us for the unveiling of this year's SOS embroidery project, bring your picnic blankets and food, we'll provide the music and good vibes. All are welcome.
WHEN: Saturday May 24, 11:30-6:30 (picnic: 4:30-6:30pm)
WHERE: Delhi Park, Picton - to the east of the dog park
Society of Stitchers Celebration! Community Gardens Flag Making & Community Picnic!
Saturday May 31, 11:30am-6:30pm
Drop in and help us make bunting (flags) for the Community Garden from 1-4:30; Society of Stitchers picnic from 4:30-6:30 (Stitchers please arrive at 4). Join us for the unveiling of this year's SOS embroidery project, bring your picnic blankets and food. The County Strings, cellist Amber Walton-Amar and violinist Jenna Gallagher, will be playing music for our enjoyment. All are welcome.
WHEN: Saturday May 31, 11:30-6:30 (picnic: 4:30-6:30pm)
WHERE: Delhi Park, Picton - to the east of the dog park
Mushroom Appreciation Day & Community Picnic
Saturday June 7, 11:30am-6:30pm ~ with Feral Folc
Join Feral Folc for an afternoon of Mushroom Appreciation and art-making, 1-4:30 PM. Community picnic 4:30-6:30, bring your picnic blankets and food, Pierre Bouchard and his drumming group will be creating a Tam-Tam style improvised drumming experience, please bring a drum or shaker if you have one you can bring. We will also have some extra drums available from the Picton Library Musical Instrument Lending Library (MILL), for those of you without a drum that wish to join in! All are welcome.
WHEN: Saturday June 7, 11:30-6:30 (picnic: 4:30-6:30pm)
WHERE: Delhi Park, Picton - to the east of the dog park
PECFN Day, Game of Shrooms & Community Picnic
Saturday June 14, 11:30am-6:30pm
PECFN Day: Join the Prince Edward County Field Naturalists for a day of free nature programming! 11-12 AM nature walk, 1 PM turtle talk, 3:00 nature square check-in, 6:45 chimney swift presentation, 7:30 chimney swift walk.
Game of Shrooms! Hide your mushroom-themed artwork in Delhi Park and be a part of the worldwide scavenger hunt! Please read the FAQ's on their website.
Community picnic 4:30-6:30, bring your picnic blankets and food. DJ Ombudsman will be spinning instrumental dub reggae from 4:30-5:30 and acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Matthew “Doc” Dunn will be playing a set from 5:30-6:30. All are welcome.
WHEN: Saturday June 14, 11:00-7:30 (picnic: 4:30-6:30pm)
WHERE: Delhi Park, Picton - across from the community gardens; if driving, use Lalor St entrance.
Monarch Day & Community Picnic
Saturday July 26, 11:30am-6:30pm ~ with SSJI
Join us for South Shore Joint Initiative's Monarch Day! Community picnic 4:30-6:30, bring your picnic blankets and food, DJ Sonja Scharf will be spinning tunes from 4:30-6:30 for our enjoyment. All are welcome.
WHEN: Saturday July 26, 11:30-6:30 (picnic: 4:30-6:30pm)
WHERE: Delhi Park, Picton - to the east of the dog park
Birdbone Theatre's Broom Dance
The DOI presents Broom Dance, shadow puppets with live music and song.
WHEN: Friday May 30, doors at 7 PM, show at 7:30
WHERE: DOI Studio, lower level of The Armoury, 206 Main St, Picton
TICKETS: $20 available HERE!
After the recent ice storm cancelled their March performance, we're delighted to welcome our friends Birdbone Theatre back to Picton for an intimate shadow puppetry performance of Broom Dance, joined by their partner in song and musical magic Ekaterina.
Broom Dance is a shadow puppet show for winter and winter witches. It is a shadow song for the threshold, for the liminal place between light and dark, between house and the howling wild. A luminous bow of song and cut paper to the wild dark and winter night.
The shadow play will be followed with lively music by Chanter la Pomme, a duo whose accordion and hurdy gurdy welcomes the tapping of toes and the dancing of feet!
Join us for an evening of puppetry, Slavic polyphony, hurdy gurdy and some sage crones to help you to make some sense of these wild days.
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!
MAKE A LANTERN
Making a lantern is fun and creative, and is suitable for most ages and skill levels
Join us in our studio for a lantern-making workshop! Making a lantern is fun and creative, and is suitable for most ages and skill levels, although younger ones will need assistance. Your lantern can be as simple or as complex as you wish, but it’s best to budget at least a few hours’ time to make one. No need to pre-register, just drop in when you wish!
We are located in the lower level of The Armoury, 206 Main St, Picton, all the way at the end of the hall. Please park on Main Street or the Mary Street parking lot.
The price is $15 per lantern and we’ll provide you with all materials and instruction. You can also buy a lantern kit from us if you’d like to make one at home.
Can’t make it to a workshop? Maybe you’re coming from out of town? We’ve made some tutorials below so you can make a lantern at home with readily-available materials. There are lots of other types of lanterns, too - the only kind we don’t like are sky lanterns - they are polluting and a fire hazard.
Make sure to display your lantern in the lantern gallery when you arrive at the Crystal Palace!
10 x 10 Art Show
The biggest show of small art in The County!
It’s the biggest show of small art in The County!
This event is a fundraiser for The Department of Illumination, a not-for-profit arts organization.
All works are for sale for $110 + HST.
We’ve had three years of our wild and wonderful 10 x 10 Art Show, from 2022 to 2024.
Watch this space for news about our 2025 edition - or event better, sign up for our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss the announcement!
Nuit Blanche North
A Huntsville festival that loves puppets and lanterns!
Last night was our third time participating in Nuit Blanche North, and wow! Krista & Susanne had a blast! It was a beautiful thing to watch people interact with our illuminated outdoor installation, “Co-habitation;” we also did two giant puppet processions, first with our pal Richard Underhill and the Rider Raiders, then with our new friends, Shout the band. Plus we saw all sorts of cool art and My Son the Hurricane blew our minds with all of their everything! Massive thanks to Huntsville Festival for the Arts and Dan Watson & crew for putting on a really special festival.
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.
