Port Bickerton Lighthouse
Third Annual Arts Festival
August 22, 2026
10:00am – 7:00pm
Stay tuned – more information coming!
August 22, 2026 • 10 AM to 7 PM • Free Admission!
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Third Annual Arts Festival
More information available soon!
We are ushering in our third year of the Port Bickerton Lighthouse Art Festival. Our goal is the same to celebrate the arts, culture, community, and our coastal environment. We have been recognized as one of a number of Coastal Gems on the Eastern Shore. We hope to see everyone during your explorations of our Shore and enjoy the Festival.
- A literary reading
- Musical performances from a variety of artists
- Activities and workshops with hands-on participation opportunities available
- Artshow displays and interactions featuring local artists and crafters
- Delicious snacks
- And more!
Some seating will be provided. It is recommended to bring lawn chairs, and to dress appropriately for this outdoor event.
Donations to the lighthouse are welcomed!
Events
Come swim on the sandy beach, design and fly a kite, enjoy the work of others, and create art of your own.
Activities
An assortment of fun activities / demonstrations.
Plein Air Challenge
All about leaving the four walls of your studio behind and being inspired by the landscape around you. Hike one of the trails to find a spot that inspires.
Please bring your own materials and medium.
Paint your favorite space along our coast, to be displayed during the Ars Festival. Awards will be given to the top 3 pieces selecteed by our judges! Submit your painting by July 31st.
Spin Art Stations
Bring your inner Jackson Pollack.
Tattoo Designs
Andrew Peters is a local tattoo artist with 3 years of experience specializing in custom black and grey and colour tattoos. His work includes everything from script and bold traditional designs to florals, coverups, and original custom pieces. With a passion for creating meaningful, lasting artwork, he’s excited to share his work at this year’s festival.
End of Festival Drum Circle
Drummers of all levels and styles are invited to join our drum circle. Experience and share the rhythms of our Eastern Shore community. Bring your drum or any percussive instrument.
Kite Painting
All levels welcome.
Literary Readings
Hosted by Willa Mitchell, playwright daughter of W.O. Mitchell.
Information Booth
Hosted by the Naomi Society.
Kids crafts.
Stain Glass Projects
Hosted by the St. Mary’s River Association.
Music
Performances will be live throughout the Festival.
Acoustic Folk Jam Circle
Tap into your folk roots, bring your favourite song and instrument, or just your voice, and join us for a song sharing collaborative jam. We’ll have a few mics set up and some hand-held auxiliary percussion instruments. Our session will culminate in a rousing rendition of Barett’s Privateers’ How I Wish I Was In Sherbrooke Now.
Drop by our Information Table to find out more about St. Mary’s Arts Connection Council’s mandate and vision, chat with some of our SMACC board members, and let us know the kinds of arts events you’d love to see more of in our community.
Sign up to receive emails on upcoming events, or find out how you can become more involved in helping make the arts an even greater integral part of our collective local identity.
Sandy MacDonald is a versatile guitar player, interested in acoustic folk styles as well as electric blues and rock. He led the ECMA-winning jump blues band, The Floorboards, in Halifax, and since settling in Sherbrooke in 2020 he’s been a fixture of the local music scene, playing regularly at the Sherbrooke Saturday Market and as a member of the popular band, Night Owls. He enjoys teaching beginner and intermediate guitar in Sherbrooke, at Riverbend Strings.
Lucy Niles is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter who has toured across Canada, Europe and the United States. She has recorded and released four full-length albums, four EPs, along with various projects over the last 15 years, most notably a Polaris Music Prize Shortlist for her band, Partner. She teaches guitar, drums, and bass privately and in group settings to students ages 6 through to adult at Riverbend Strings and is a certified teacher in the province of Nova Scotia.
Jazz
Hosted by Paul Tynan Quartet.
Paul Tynan is a jazz trumpet player and composer active internationally with recent performances in Asia, Europe, and North America. Paul has released 15 recordings as a leader / co-leader with his most recent recording the critically acclaimed “Bicoastal Collective: Chapter Six” receiving worldwide attention.
The International Trumpet Guild has stated that downbeat award-winning trumpet player and composer, Paul Tynan’s “Creative Genius Shines”.
Music has taken Paul to thirty countries across three continents, including all the Canadian provinces and 47 states in the USA.
He co-leads the “Bicoastal Collective”, with Grammy-winning saxophonist Aaron Lington. The ensemble is dedicated to performing new jazz compositions. Paul has released 15 recordings as a leader / co-leader on the Origin, OA2, Champion Version, Armored, and NohJoh Music labels. As a jazz recording artist, Paul has appeared on over seventy-five recordings, as a trumpet player, composer, arranger, and / or producer. He has received grant support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Arts Nova Scotia, the Nova Scotia Department of Culture and Heritage and the St. Francis Xavier University Council on Research for his creative output. Paul is a Full Professor of Music at St. Francis Xavier University, where he teaches brass, jazz history, and arranging. He has also served on the faculties of The Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory, San Jose State University, Chabot College, Nova Scotia Honor Jazz Program, and University of North Texas Summer Trumpet Workshop and is a past co-director of the Acadia Summer Jazz Workshop. He is currently the artistic director of the Antigonish Jazz Festival.
Paul plays Edwards Instruments and Griego Mouthpieces.
Eastern Shore Folk
Hosted by Ben O’Brien.
Maritime folksinger Ben O’Brien is a storyteller by nature. With a lofty background in film production, Ben is a versatile artist driven by a deep passion to tell eccentric tales after his own heart.
Growing up in a small fishing community on the Eastern Shore, his songs are truly authentic and inquisitively express the trove od seaside memories he holds dear. He strives to tell stories that preserve his own Irish history, and pay ode to Nova Scotia’s rich Celtic roots.
His debut EP “LORE” is a six-song Irish Traditional Avant-folk album.
Soft Rock
Hosted by Mike Porter and the Village Musicians.
Workshops
Enjoy workshops dotted around the lighthouse grounds.
Cyanotype Print Workshops
Hosted by Erin Johnston
Erin is a high school English and Art teacher at Saint Mary’s Education Centre / Academy. She is from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and moved to Sherbrooke in 2024 after living in Nunavut for 6 years.
ESCOM
Weather-Inspired Design Weaving Project
ESCOM is a citizen science group.
Tribal Fusion Art
Mosaic Art Workshop
Hosted by Shannon Monk.
Enjoy creating a beautiful art piece using assorted glass and repurpose materials. Feel free to bring your own base a plate a bowl a jar a glass, small table, etc. participants and federal attendees are welcome to bring materials to share Seaglass, broken glass, broken pottery or ceramic pieces, shells, rocks, old jewelry, and more.
Rug Hooking
Demonstration and displays by Valerie Randall.
Valerie is the owner of Hooking in the Forest and has been a rug hooker since 2021. It has become her passion to create beautiful rugs using wool yarn.
Valerie’s inspirations come from various places, including most recently, Port Bickerton, where she is originally from. She current is living in Lake Paul, Nova Scotia, and she believes that “each rug tells a story”.
Valerie has retired from her career of 31 years in the healthcare profession, and is now able to focus more on her hooking.
Food
Try these delicious summer items.
SMASH BOYS
A food truck based in Antigonish that makes exotic gourmet burgers.
Juan B Heritage Coffee
Our brand is inspired by Juan B., a father, farmer, and the guardian of San Roque Farm. Today, from our new home in Nova Scotia, we honour his memory and our Colombian heritage by sharing this exceptional coffee with the community that welcomed us.
The mural in our house in Little Dover represents JuanB’s Coffee journey from the snow-capped mountains and sun-kissed hills of Colombia’s Sierra Nevada to Nova Scotia’s welcoming shores.
A coffee born from our heritage and crafted to become part of yours.
The Lighthouse Cajun Club Sandwich
The classic sandwich featured as a snack from our first Annual Arts Festival back in 2023.
Ice Cream and Popcorn
Enjoy a delicious snack with your pick of ice cream or popcorn!
Sponsors
The Port Bickerton Lighthouse Association is proud to be sponsored by the following organizations.
Even More to Do!
Fly a Kite!
Build, decorate, and fly a kite!
Swimming
Swim on the sandy beach
Walk The Trails
Enjoy the sights and sounds of a beautiful coastal area
Artwork
Enjoy the work of others and create art of your own
Port Bickerton Lighthouse
Third Annual Arts Festival
August 22, 2026
Questions? Please email Brian Gary, President, Port Bickerton Area & Planning Association.