In this episode of the Discover Moose Jaw News Podcast, Jennifer McRorie (Curator/Director) and Violet Tang (Operations Manager) from the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery discuss the ParkArt 2024 arts and crafts festival. 

ParkArt is held annually on July 1st — Canada Day — in Crescent Park, taking up a broad stretch of the available space in front of the Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery (MJMAG) and the Moose Jaw Public Library (MJPL). 

Children ages 12 and under get in free. For everyone else, admission is $5 at the gate. 

More than 70 vendors with handcrafted goods ranging from cakes and cookies to ceramics, paintings, woodwork, jewelry, fabric arts, and more will be set up from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, July 1 — rain or shine. 

“With park art, we have the history of it. It's been ongoing since the ‘70s,” McRorie said. “So, there is a momentum. People recognize it, and there's vendors that want to participate. 

“That history helps with the planning because people anticipate, when we put the calls out to the vendors — that starts back in January and we get applications in right away.” 

Tang said that in many ways, art has historically been intended for certain communities, or only for the privileged. She sees festivals like ParkArt as part of the solution to making art widely accessible. 

“I see events like ParkArt and other highly community engaged events as breaking these boundaries of not only being [directed at] art patrons or artistic audiences and communities, but having a wider approach 

“It’s for people and visitors to participate, and not only for visual artists, but also artists and craftsmen of all types to participate as vendors.” 

ParkArt is the MJMAG’s largest and longest-running annual fundraiser and holds a wide-ranging reputation as one of Saskatchewan’s biggest and most diverse arts and crafts events.  

More information is available at mjmag.ca/parkart.  

Listen to the podcast below!