Open Spaces Festival

Overview

Home to a swag of artist studios and galleries, the Abbotsford Convent is a hotbed of creativity at the best of times. But come Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10, the historic site will be stepping things up a few notches for its annual, all-ages arts and music festival, Open Spaces. Get set for a supercharged program of food, performance, art, design and more.

Local producer Joel Ma (aka Joelistics) is pulling together a music lineup stuffed with well-loved acts including nu-soul performer Hailey Cramer, indie-pop trio Haiku Hands, African Australian hip hop artist N'fa Jones and MC DRMNGNOW. They'll grace an outdoor stage, set against the backdrop of the Convent's lush gardens.

A pop-up market will showcase plenty of locally handcrafted goodies, while the Convent's wellbeing group leads a program of meditation, yoga and mindfulness sessions — and you'll find a range of other classes and workshops happening all throughout the buildings and grounds. Meanwhile, a stack of the Convent's resident creatives will open the doors to their studios, offering a close-up glimpse at artist life.

Throw in some roving performances, pop-up exhibitions, a creative kids' program, and a lineup of food trucks and pop-up bars, and you've got yourself one jam-packed weekend.

Image: Anne Moffat