Sandpoint, ID

In all the years we’ve lived in Sandpoint, we’ve never done ArtWalk. Sure we’ve seen the signs in the store windows around town, announcing ArtWalk participants, and there was that one time we went to an opening reception. But we’ve never grabbed an ArtWalk map and, well, walked the route to view the art exhibition. We decided it was time to change that! Saturday morning was the perfect time to do it. It was a beautiful summer morning in Sandpoint with perfect temperatures. So why not get out and about?

We headed down to the town square and parked in the public parking lot. After settling our toddler into her stroller, we set off walking. We headed over to First Avenue, and on the east side of the street we headed north. Judging from the ArtWalk map this was a sound plan, as it appeared there were lots of businesses along this strip that were ArtWalk participants. However, it turned out we had started just a little too early in the morning (about 9:45 am) and many places were still closed. We kept walking anyways, and eventually found the first open business with an ArtWalk sign in the window. We headed in, totally expecting to see a gallery display of artwork. Instead, what we found was one piece from a local artist.

Somewhat disappointed, we headed to the next location of ArtWalk participants: the Cedar Street Bridge. Here again some of the businesses were still closed but we did go into a couple of stores in search of more ArtWalk pieces. Again, we were disappointed. The only employee in the first store we went into didn’t know what we were talking about. The next store we went in we couldn’t even find the artwork!!

We headed back outside to regroup and distract our daughter with snacks. At this point, we were really disappointed and frustrated with ArtWalk. We expected to walk into a business, see a clear display of the featured artist(s) work, and be able to enjoy viewing it. Instead we were running into poorly displayed art, lack of proper signage, and employees who couldn’t even help us!

We thought about calling it quits, but then I remembered my friend had told me the display at Taylor-Parker Toyota looked good. So we headed west on Cedar Street, stopping in at Pend Oreille Winery to view the artwork there. Here is where our adventure got a whole lot better (and no, not because we did wine-tasting!). We walked in to the winery, looked to the right, and all along a wall clearly displayed was artwork. And it was beautiful! And the artist was someone we know! We were so excited to finally see something wonderfully displayed, really allowing the focus to be on the art and not merchandise for sale. There was plenty of room for us to stand back and admire the art, and the salespeople left us alone (aside from a pleasant greeting) to contemplate the art.

Our interest in ArtWalk renewed (because that environment was what we were expecting ArtWalk to be), we continued on to the Toyota dealership. And here we were even more amazed and rejuvenated. Taylor-Parker has set aside a whole room for the ArtWalk display, which happened to be featuring at this location the NW Papier Mache Artist’s Guild. Everything displayed at this location was papier mache, and it was quite impressive.

We especially loved the puppets.

At this point we crossed over to the south side of Cedar, stopped in at Timber Stand Gallery, and then headed back to First Avenue for our final stop of the day: Hallans Gallery. I was looking forward to this stop the most because I was interested to see what this artist’s photography is like. I’ve admired him in movies, and I’ve heard he’s a wonderful poet and artist. I also happen to think it’s pretty cool that he lives in our town and participates in local events, like ArtWalk. But because he’s famous and I want to respect his privacy, I won’t mention his name. But I will post this photo:

And with that we ended our tour, about two hours after we started. After the initial disappointment, which really was due to what we expected ArtWalk to be, we ended pretty pleased. I think ArtWalk is a great way to get downtown and connect with our local businesses and local artists. We were impressed more than once along the way, our breath completely blown away by some of the beauty we saw. I would recommend doing ArtWalk but with this suggestion:

If you’re looking for a quiet stroll with just the mindset of viewing art (like we were), I would recommend visiting the locations along Cedar street. And while we didn’t have a chance to go to the participants along 6th street, I bet they would also be quiet, gallery-like environments. But, if you want to mix your art viewing with a little shopping, stroll along First Avenue. Afterall, ArtWalk is a way to bring the community to downtown stores. If you do go this route, make sure you go at a time when the stores are actually open (hours are printed in the ArtWalk brochure).

I would recommend picking up a brochure before hand, which are available at many local businesses or the Chamber of Commerce. You could also view the list of participating stores and artists online at www.artinsandpoint.com. You could plan on bringing beverages and snacks along with you, or plan on stopping at a local café for a bite to eat. Restrooms are available at the Cedar Street Bridge or at the town square. Most places were stroller-friendly, although occasionally we had a tight squeeze.

So will we do it again? I think so. And I think we may even buy some of the art we saw…and some merchandise we saw in the downtown stores!