Local artists of all levels will have a chance to enter their work into a local art show.“We have incredible talent in this community - established artists and closet artists that are too intimidated to show their art in a public domain. “This event is designed to celebrate and draw all levels of artists to show off their work. In particular, we are hoping to offer an added incentive to young artists to bring their art forward,” said Darla Dickinson, event administrator for the Trails Crossing Friendship Centre. Trails Crossing is organizing a series of three events designed to celebrate rural diversity through art and food. The Art Show is the last of the three events. “There is a key to enter though – the art has to reflect how you, the artist, view your community in the Fraser Cascade area,” said Dickinson. “The idea is to create a greater understanding of how this view relates to your culture, background and faith.” “Each artist is asked to write a one paragraph explanation of how their work ties into their community. The main criteria that the judges will be looking at is how the piece is a reflection of the community,” says Dickinson. The guest judges include local councilman Ron Smith, the president of the Hope and District Arts Council Rod Fowler and well known artist Francis Horne Sr. “We do have three categories – beginner, intermediate and advanced with honorariums available for all levels,” adds Dickinson. “Currently we have over a dozen artists registered and more coming in every day.” “We had a wonderful turn out of artists at the Artist forum on Saturday, Feb. 12, it was very rewarding to see the artists connect with one another and brainstorm ways that they can work together and learn about all the resources that do exist within the community,” said Dickinson. The third event in the ‘Celebrating Rural Diversity,’ series will be held at Christ Church Anglican & National Historic Site, at the corner of Park and Fraser St, on Saturday, Feb. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Judging will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.Artists can register for the show by calling Darla Dickinson at 604-869-2279.