Paint the Town! Winter Banner Design Workshop

Youth aged 18 and under are invited to submit their best winter-themed banner designs to decorate Kenora’s Harbourtown Centre!

Drop-in to the Douglas Family Art Centre between 10am-12pm on September 9th, 16th, or 23rd for a free banner making workshop. Participants will be provided with a banner template as well as pencils, pencil crayons, crayons, and markers to create their unique design.

No registration is required.  See Press Release below for full contest details.

The City of Kenora, in partnership with Harbourtown BIZ, is excited to launch a new community youth art project to enhance Kenora’s Harbourtown Centre this winter.

The art project invites youth aged 18 and under to participate in designing winter-themed banners to decorate the street poles in the Harbourtown Centre. Participants will use a template scaled to a life-sized banner to create their design. Young artists may wish to feature their favourite winter activity or experience on the banner, promoting what winter in Kenora means to them. The banners will be installed on street poles in the Harbourtown Centre along the Harbourfront greenbelt, Main Street South and Second Street South for the 2023-2024 winter season.

The City is looking for up to 30 designs. The banner designs will be judged on the creativity, uniqueness, and originality relating to the winter theme. Any medium and style of art is eligible. Participants may only submit one banner design. We will produce the selected submissions into large, life-size banners and install them on Harbourtown Centre street poles by mid-November.

The project aims to engage local youth who want to showcase their talents in the community and provide them an opportunity to contribute to the beautification of our City this winter.

“The banner design project is a fantastic way to showcase our young local artists and winter in Kenora. Art has a way of uniting the community, especially when youth are involved. The locally designed banners will create an inviting downtown and brighten those winter days. Once the banners are up, we encourage everyone to view the display of local artwork and celebrate the talents of our local youth.”

– Mayor Andrew Poirier.

Interested youth can take part in the art project by:

• Downloading the project template from Kenora.ca
• Picking up a print copy of the template at The Muse, City Hall, Lake of the woods Discovery Centre, Kenora Public Library and Keewatin Public Library
• Attending a free drop-in banner workshop at The Muse: Douglas Family Art Centre on Saturdays in September (9th, 16th, and 23rd) from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Participants may drop off a completed design at The Muse, City Hall, Lake of the Woods Discovery Centre, Kenora Public Library, Keewatin Public Library, or email Megan Dokuchie, Economic Development Officer, at [email protected]. All designs must be submitted by September 25, 2023.

This project is funded by the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) and the Harbourtown BIZ. The MAT is a visitor tax that is utilized to support tourism and economic development projects in the City of Kenora.