50TH ANNIVERSARY MAC SUMMER SHOW — Simple suggestion launched a cultural institution

THE MUSKOKAN — In May, 1963, Bracebridge’s librarian made a suggestion, one which would turn out to change the cultural landscape of Muskoka.
“What would you think of having an arts and crafts exhibit and sale during the summer when visitors are looking for something to take home to remind them of their holiday?” Betty Reid wrote. “It could be a one-day affair — or longer.”
The question, printed in the Library Corner of the Bracebridge Gazette, drew absolutely no response, but Reid was undeterred. She and Mrs. W.A. Donaldson put together a committee and began recruiting artists who had shown their work at the library.
On Aug. 16, the two-day show opened in Bracebridge’s Memorial Park. Reid and Donaldson’s committee had done their work well: 50 artists had agreed to pay a dollar to show their work, and to donate 10 per cent of their sales to the hospital building fund.
The response was overwhelming: 3,000 people attended the show, despite bad weather that forced the Saturday part of the show to be rescheduled to Sunday. The event raised $150 for the hospital fund, and many artists sold some of their work.
An annual tradition was born.
The next year the show was held over three days, with nearly 60 artists in attendance. The next year, it was bigger still.
Within a few more years, the newspaper reports were no longer treating it as a quaint local spectacle. Artists were coming from across Ontario to show their work, thousands of visitors were attending the show, and it was clear the exhibit was a major cultural event. Within a decade, the show had outgrown Memorial Park downtown and had moved to the much larger Annie Williams Park beside the Muskoka River, a spot it continues to occupy.
At the same time, Muskoka itself was becoming an artistic hot spot. Where the first few shows had featured a handful of professional artists and an assortment of amateur crafters, gradually the level of professionalism grew.
“Without a doubt, the Summer Show has had an impact on the growth of the arts in Muskoka,” said Elene Freer. The executive director of Muskoka Arts and Crafts, Freer has been at the helm of the show for 22 years.
“That first Summer Show provided the basis for the creation of Muskoka Arts & Crafts and, over time, all its programs and events,” explained Freer. “Today, the organization has nearly 400 members.”
Inspired by the show, the organizers began to host other events for the local arts community. There were film nights, where movies about artists were shown, classes were organized, and other exhibits took place.
These days, Muskoka Arts and Crafts hosts shows in spring and at Christmas, as well as a mystery art sale called Who Art Thou. The group runs a gallery with a roster of juried exhibits and publishes an annual guide to the region’s artists.
“In 2011, in partnership with the Town of Bracebridge and funding from FedNor, we took 16 artists from Muskoka to the One of a Kind Spring Show and Sale in Toronto and promoted Muskoka as a designated arts community,” said Freer. “The designation was an initiative launched by Muskoka Arts & Crafts in 2008 as a testament to the vitality of the area’s arts scene and its potential as a fundamental building block for year-round art tourism in Muskoka.”
But always, the summer show has been the highlight of the group’s year.
Over the years, the show has featured a broad range of attractions in an attempt to offer visitors something new. There have been poetry readings and puppetry displays, buskers and performance artists. One year the Royal Ontario Museum sent a travelling exhibit devoted to Ontario’s geology.
Most recently, the show has added a culinary area, to allow a limited number of food producers to showcase and sell their work.
Always, though, the show organizers have focused on maintaining a high level of professionalism.
“Every year, we receive hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of applications from artists living in Muskoka, Ontario, and other regions of Canada,” said Freer. “The applications are diverse and each and every one is wonderful.
“We have a jury of professional artists and craftspeople who review all the applications and determine which applications will be accepted into the Summer Show,” she explained. “The jury looks for excellence in workmanship, originality of design, pricing and if the work is a good fit for the Muskoka market.
“It’s an exhausting process but one that ensures that we have a lively mix of new and returning exhibitors.”

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