By: Georgia LeBlanc, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Tilbury Times Reporter
On Aug. 23, Tilbury’s annual Art in the Parking Lot took place in the Tilbury Arena’s parking lot.
Nicolle Hilbert was one of the four main event organizers. She said the event was originally held at Memorial Park before a large flood. It has since been relocated to the Tilbury Arena’s parking lot for the past three years. No matter where it was held however, Hilbert said it usually takes a valiant effort to set up the event.
“There’s a lot of background organization that people may not see,” said Hilbert. “Without sponsors, it would be hard to put this on.”
With all this hard work taken into consideration, event organizer Mark Authier said their efforts annually pay off for the community.
“Tilbury doesn’t have a lot of events anymore, we used to have a fair and everything,” said Authier. “We don’t have that anymore, so we wanted to keep this local event going.”
Hilbert said Art in the Parking Lot is a great way for families to wrap up their summer.
“I think it’s a great event for everybody to come out and spend the day with their family,” said Hilbert. “It’s a beautiful day, so it’s a good time to spend outside to finish off their summer.”
Authier also said visitors weren’t the only ones benefiting from the event.
“I’m assuming most our vendors are returning from prior years, so it must be paying off for them as well.”
One of said vendors is Stack 3D Designs, run by Zak Kolasa. Kolasa said it was his first time as a vendor at Art in the Parking Lot.
“We make articulated figures, home decor, accessories, keychains, all different kinds of things,” said Kolasa.
Kolasa also said the event was a great strategy to find out what the demand is for his products.
“Art in the Parking Lot gives us a great opportunity to display our products,” said Kolasa. “It gives us a chance to interact with customers and allows us to get a better idea of what to make based on popular requests.”
Also attending the event was Peter Gilbert of Red Raven Flutes. Gilbert hand makes wooden flutes to sell to the public. At the event, he could be seen playing melodies on his creations to entertain the public.
Gilbert has been displaying and testing his flutes at Art in the Parking Lot for three years now.
“I like doing this festival because it’s close to home and supporting the town of Tilbury,” said Gilbert.
Despite several for sale, Gilbert said he only kept four of his creations permanently.
“This is Jenny,” said Gilbert while holding up a double-wooden flute with “JENNY” carved into it. “She’s my personal flute.”
Gilbert said from his personal experiences, a flute can connect with its player on a deep level.
“This is what I do all my shows with. I’ve played weddings, funerals, events in the city…,” said Gilbert. “When you’ve been playing a flute for a while, you listen to its voice. Once you’ve heard its voice and you’ve bonded with that, you have to give it a name.”
The serial number on Jenny read “867-5309,” making it clear his creation was named after the popular song by Tommy Tutone.
Aside from hand-crafted instruments and 3D printed treasures, over ninety vendors and even more visitors attended Art in the Parking Lot.
“I would say we usually have about two thousand people out,” said Authier. “A lot of vendors are from the community, but some are also from out of town.”
The festival also included live music, food trucks, Zoo2you and even a cameo from Bluey and friends.
“It’s just a fun day for everybody to come out and have a good time,” said Hilbert.
