It all started in a local pub, the Hobby Horse Arms, one night in 1985. Owner Ron Tindley and musician Tom Baker, who played a regular piano gig there on Friday nights, cooked up the idea to showcase music, film, visual arts, and theatre. They created a team of local artists and art lovers to make the Celebration a reality. The mandate of the Celebration of the Arts was to bring professional artists and their art to Uxbridge. This would be an opportunity for local artists and art lovers to hear professional musicians and talk to “real” filmmakers in their own backyard.

The original three-day festival has grown to become a three week event, bringing visitors from well beyond the community. The schedule is packed with events of interest to all. The Uxbridge Studio Tour, included in the events each year, is one of the finest in Ontario. Our Juried Art Show attracts artists from all over Southern and Central Ontario. The Gala events attract world-famous musicians and performers. The Roxy Short Film evening features winners from the Worldwide Short Film Festival. Books and Authors Night has showcased writers who have been awarded many prestigious literary prizes. Truly this small-town event is a feast for the senses, cooked up a quarter-century ago by a far-sighted group of visionaries.

The incredible vision of the four founding directors continues in Uxbridge to this day. Countless volunteers contribute hundreds of hours to ensure the Celebration continues. Their perseverance over the past 25 years has resulted in a stellar arts festival. It has truly put Uxbridge “on the map” and transformed it into a town for the arts. People have moved here because they came to the Celebration and liked what they saw. They started friendships, choirs and collaborations as a result of the Celebration of the Arts. The arts community and the wider community of Uxbridge Town and Township has grown and flourished.

-compiled by Wynn Walters