Heritage buffs and looky-loos will be happy to note the annual New Westminster heritage home tour is coming up this Sunday.
This year the popular New Westminister Heritage Preservation Society tour and tea will have an artistic twist.
The Van Dop Gallery will present works from what gallery owner Trudy Van Dop calls the New West 7 in six of the tour’s 14 venues.
The New West 7 – the name is a nod to the Canadian Group of Seven – is made up of artists who live and work in the Royal City.
Works by the artists will be displayed in the selected heritage homes to accentuate the homes as well as to give exposure to the local artists.
“It gives the participants and people who are visitors on the tour another opportunity to see what New West has to offer,” said Van Dop.
New Westminster artist Jim Walsh, who paints under the name J. Charles, will be displaying four of his paintings, some inspired by the trees and foliage around his home near Queen’s Park, where he has lived for over 25 years.
“I think it is a wonderful opportunity for an artist first of all to be part of the tour itself and then to be able to display some of my art work so people can see it,” Walsh said, adding his wife has gone on the heritage home tour as a participant 10 times in the past and is encouraging him to go from house to house this time.
“It will be interesting,” he said.
All of the displayed artwork will be available for sale through Van Dop.
Other artists whose work will be displayed include watercolour artist Angela Au Hemphill, street photographer Gabor Gasztonyi, painter Judith Copland, portrait artist Jerry McLaughlin, Spilsbury silver medallist Teressa L. Bernard and lifelong New West resident and artist Leslie Poole.
The tour runs May 25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information go to, newwestheritage.org/heritage-homes-tour or www.vandopgallery.com.
– Jennifer Thuncher
