The Canadian Stone Carving Festival took place this past weekend on Sparks Street. This is the second year that the festival has partnered with Ottawa Innercity Ministries in order to raise funds for Innercity Arts. If you want to learn how we first got connected with the festival, you can read it here.
I spent the weekend at the festival, getting to know the carvers and others volunteering their time and energy to the festival. There is truly something special about this community of carvers, who gather together for their love of carving and their desire to give back to the community.
Several young people from Innercity Arts spent their weekend helping out at the festival. They were busy sweeping up dust, shoveling stones and passing out many water bottles to keep the carvers hydrated. So often, street-involved youth and young adults are ignored or mistreated, but the carvers showed their genuine appreciation for the youth’s hard work.
The carving community also showed that they value these youth by donating 100% of the carving sales to Innercity Arts. The carvings raised a total of $9375!
Ottawa Innercity Ministries would like to thank Smith & Barber Atelier, for organizing the festival, all of the sponsors, the carvers, and the volunteers. We look forward to next year’s festival!
