Orillia Arts District

Orillia Museum of Art & History

Orillia has a vast array of artists and artisans, from all areas of the arts: visual, musical, written works to theatre productions. From Orillia itself to the surrounding towns, the arts are a growing sector here. Downtown is the Orillia Museum of Art and History, offering a multitude of arts from area artists, as well as historical artworks and pieces of local history like pottery and artifacts. The displays change in the museum throughout the year, so it isn't unusual to find yourself visiting the museum on a regular basis. It opens at 10:00am and closes at 4:00pm, from Tuesdays to Saturdays (is closed Sunday and Monday) and is located at 30 Peter Street South. For more information on displays/shows and visitor rates, please visit their website: The Orillia Museum of Art and History.

Besides the Orillia Museum of Art & History, there are numerous smaller galleries around the Peter Street and Missisaga Street corridor, as well as a number of galleries and shops owned by the artists themselves.

Part of the Peter Street Art Corridor - downtown Orillia

On Peter Street (between Mississaga and Colborne) you'll find offerings from places like Richard Vandermeer's studio with original paintings and portraits, and prints of some of his works in card format. He's also very skilled in fly-tying, and is an experienced fishing guide.

Festival of Banners, Orillia

Nearby is the Shadow Box, which often displays the work of artists, and where one can purchase art supplies (paints, canvas, custom framing, etc.), and the Zephyr Art Gallery  where a number of artists' works are on display and where a variety of special events take place in the local art community. Just off Peter Street on a small laneway entrance you'll find Tiffin's Creative Center, where local artworks are always on display, and prints are offered for sale, along with cards and other artistic work. Tiffins is one of the great local printer's and provides not only printing for artists, but photocopies, fax services, laminating and variety of other useful services.

One of the things that is a huge hit during spring to fall in Orillia is the sponsoring and showing of outdoor art. In 2010, the downtown streets became a huge outdoor art show. The sidewalks were festooned with large wooden guitars, painted by local artists. The display was pretty amazing. (see this page for some of the guitars on display), and 2009 was the Festival of Banners (this I think has been a 3-year run, with new banners being painted each year and hung from the lamp posts).

Tiffin's Creative Center - downtown Orillia

From the Orillia Streets Alive site, it looks like this year's (2011) unique outdoor art is Sailboats, with painted sails (have a look at their site where you can see some of these: Orillia Streets Alive)

Along with the visual arts, there are many musicians taking part in music festivals throughout the year in Orillia. The Mariposa Folk Festival  is a long-standing favourite in this area, although it takes over one of our large public parks, which some of us locals really aren't that happy about. A public park should remain public, and not require an entrance fee. Most of us will "grit our teeth" and look the other way (or pay the entrance fee) for the duration of the festival. It's a very worthwhile endeavour and without the entrance fee, the festival wouldn't survive. And that is something no one wants to see.

We used to live quite close to this park, and one year the members of Herman's Hermits were on stage. I wandered over to the park, where some areas were closed unless you paid admission. But you could sit on the hill and hear the music just fine. Since that time, the festival has grown and expanded and taken over most of the park. It sees visitors from across Canada, who come just for this event. If you're a music fan, this is one of the "must see" events in Orillia.
Throughout the year, there are a number of other music festivals - notably the Orillia Jazz and Blues Festival  which has been another popular venue for music lovers.

In the downtown core and the waterfront park (Couchiching Beach Park) there are frequently performers in the "open air" - both on the sidewalks, and at the Acqua Theatre in Couchiching Beach Park. During the numerous parades in Orillia you'll find musicians and singers taking part on the floats, as well as on erected bandstands at the waterfont. Festivals and outdoor events occur almost every weekend in Orillia during the spring to early fall months. From the huge and well-attended "scottish Festival" (around the middle of July) to the "Canada Day Celebrations" (July 1), and the Great Legends at the Legion (previously the Orillia Elvis Festival, usually in August) there will be more than enough live-music on tap to feed any soul. One of the local favourites is entertainer Jim Anderson who (together with his wife as technical crew) pays tribute to the king of rock (Elvis) and brings his own original work to the stage wherever he goes.
The written arts are also alive in Orillia. If you are a writer, or endeavouring to be a writer, take a look at the Orillia Writer's Group. As well, one of the very long running awards events in Orillia is the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.  Stephen Leacock was well known in our area as a writer of humour, and his summer home still stands (The Stephen Leacock Museum) on the shore of Lake Couchiching (open for visitor tours and events).


Please note: if you are an artist, musician, writer, actor/actress or involved in other arts areas within Orillia and the surrounding district, please contact me for inclusion the arts section of this site.

Orillia Arts Links

Orillia and District Arts Council
Local Historical Art - Orillia Public Library
Mariposa Theatre Foundation
Orillia Beatles Celebration
Orillia Folk Society
Orillia Sunday Evening Band Concerts

Artists Links

Dave Beckett Art
Richard Vandermeer Fine Art
Derek Wicks
Arthur Shilling
J. Gracey Stinson

Entertainers/Musicians/Bands

James Anderson
The Cellar Singers
Chaverim
Orillia Silver Band

Seven Shades
Like Animals
The Unsound Souls