• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
South Muskoka Doppler

South Muskoka Doppler

Read Local

  • Home
    • All Stories
    • Community Guidelines
  • COVID-19
  • News
  • Community
  • Commentary
    • Letters
  • Business
    • Professionally Speaking
  • Sports
  • Obituaries
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
  • Events
    • Event Listings
    • Add Your Event
  • Speak Up, South Muskoka!
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • North Muskoka
  • Art Fx
You are here: Home / Entertainment / Celebrate six decades of the MAC Summer Show this weekend
Photo by Muskoka Arts and Crafts

Celebrate six decades of the MAC Summer Show this weekend

By Matt Driscoll On July 11, 2022 Entertainment

Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Email this to someone
email
Print this page
Print

From a simple question posed in a weekly newspaper column, one of Muskoka’s most popular festivals was born.

The Festival is the Muskoka Arts and Crafts (MAC) Summer Show, which runs July 15, 16 and 17 at Annie Williams Park in Bracebridge,  and the question was this:

“What would you think of having an arts and crafts sale during the summer when visitors are looking for something to take home to remind them of their holiday? Properly organized, this could develop into an annual highlight of the summer season.” – Betty Reid, Bracebridge librarian, 1963.

Reid posed the question in her Library Corner column in the Bracebridge Gazette, and it did not receive perhaps the response she had been hoping for. 

“No one actually responded to that column and it took a little while to get going,” said Elene Freer, the former organizer of the show, speaking last year.

Despite the lack of enthusiasm from the public, meetings were held and a committee was formed to organize the first-ever summer show.

The show was set for August 16 and 17, 1963 at Memorial Park in downtown Bracebridge. The entry fee was one dollar and artists were invited to enter their work. The organizers had received only one application two weeks before the show was to open, said Freer. Nonetheless, the committee continued their work and the entries began to arrive.

In the end an estimated 3,000 people attended the show to view the work of 50 artists. The show was considered a tourism, cultural and financial success. Ten years later, when the Summer Show outgrew Memorial Park, it relocated to Annie Williams Memorial Park in Bracebridge where it remains to this day.

These days, the show is one of the best-attended weekend events in all of Muskoka. The show typically sees around 18,000 and 20,000 attendees viewing the work of 200 artists. This show has also now grown to feature music, food and beverages. 

You can find out more and purchase tickets on the MAC website at www.muskokaartsandcrafts.com  

Don’t miss out on Doppler!

Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox three times per week!

Click here to support local news

Reader Interactions

Join the discussion:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All comments are moderated. Please ensure you include both your first and last name and abide by our community guidelines. Submissions that do not include the commenter's full name or that do not abide by our community guidelines will not be published.

Primary Sidebar

  • Recent Stories
  • Popular
  • July 18, 2022 3

    Councillor proposes Bracebridge-wide item swap weekends

  • August 6, 2022 3

    Is Muskoka going to the dogs?

  • August 8, 2022 2

    Muskoka Lakes considers indoor lighting restrictions

  • July 14, 2022 2

    Cyclist struck in Gravenhurst

  • August 8, 2022 1

    What on earth has happened to us? | Commentary

  • August 11, 2022 0

    Complaint leads to impaired charges in Gravenhurst

  • August 11, 2022 0

    Brenda Rhodes running for District council

  • August 11, 2022 0

    Muskoka Hornets alumni help the Newmarket Hawks capture gold medal in Halifax

  • August 11, 2022 0

    No exceptions to Muskoka Lakes fireworks prohibition

  • August 11, 2022 0

    Facetime threats lead to drug bust

  • 2021 Federal Election (1)
  • A Sponsored Profile (6)
  • Advertise (1)
  • Art Fx (13)
  • Breaking (2)

Footer

About Doppler

Established by a bunch of local news hounds, Doppler strives to be the go-to source for people wanting to know more about what is going on their community.

We strive to provide local news that is relevant and timely. We also look to tell local stories that inspire, inform and engage.

Notice the persistent use of the word local? Our mantra is local. South Muskoka Doppler serves the communities of Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Muskoka Lakes with features on local people doing extraordinary things, local business spotlights, news and sports coverage, all supplemented by provocative opinion pieces on topics near and far. We are working hard for you.

Feel free to drop us a line at matt.driscoll@doppleronline.ca and tell us how we are doing, what you would like to see more of, or to just say ‘Hi’.

Thank you for reading Doppler.

South Muskoka Doppler – READ LOCAL
A division of C3 Digital Media Group Inc.

Bracebridge Ontario Canada
August 12, 2022, 5:00 am
Clear
Clear
9°C
real feel: 9°C
current pressure: 1020 mb
humidity: 100%
wind speed: 1 m/s N
wind gusts: 1 m/s
UV-Index: 0
sunrise: 6:15 am
sunset: 8:30 pm
© 2022 AccuWeather, Inc.
 

Recent Comments

  • Jackson Triggs on Wakes, noise and speed: Lakes survey reflects growing frustrations
  • Robert Dyment on Graydon Smith faces charges laid by private citizen
  • brian sisler on One person dead, one injured in Bracebridge shooting
  • RJR on What on earth has happened to us? | Commentary
  • RJR on Is Muskoka going to the dogs?
  • Heather Boyce on Muskoka Lakes considers indoor lighting restrictions
  • Bob Braan on Muskoka Lakes considers indoor lighting restrictions
  • Bob Braan on Is Muskoka going to the dogs?

Copyright © 2022 ·Doppler Online, a division of C3 Digital Media Group Inc. · Log in
  • About
  • Support Local News
  • Advertise with us!
  • Community Guidelines
  • Contact