Elora Plein Air Festival

At our annual Elora Plein Air Festival, artists are invited to capture the charm and warmth of our region. Discover heritage buildings and historic villages; dramatic gorges, lazy rivers, and hidden streams; rolling hillsides and picturesque farms. 

• Wednesday, May 13th through Saturday, May 16th discover artists painting outdoors in Fergus, Elora, and the surrounding countryside.  You may even find them out at night capturing a nocturne view.
• There will be other fun events happening throughout the five days of the festival, such as walking tours, film, music, and great food.
• Collective Art Outdoors on Saturday, May 16th, between 1:30 and 4 pm: Be part of group creativity and stay for a few minutes or the whole time.  All ages are welcome, families too! An experienced mural artist and art teacher, Meredith Blackmore, invites you to be part of creating both a painted mural and a collective nature collage. All outdoors in Bissell Park.
• Saturday, May 16th, 1:30 pm through 4:30 pm – Fergus Quick Paint: A fast-paced and fun competition -the artists have 2 hours to complete their painting and submit it for the Quick Paint judging. Our Quick Paint will be in the beautiful downtown core of Fergus where artists will capture the street scenes, bridges, and river views. Templin Gardens will be the ‘home base’  where the show and sale of the quick paint works will take place and the judge will award the Best Quick Paint prize.

Show and Sale

Sunday, May 17th  Noon – 5 PM 
Elora Centre for the Arts
75 Melville Street, Elora

• A gallery filled with art created en plein air over the last 4 days will be for show and sale and the place will be buzzing with energy and excitement.
• Enjoy the show, meet the artists, and buy a piece that gives you joy!
• You can vote for your favourite in the show between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. for the People’s Choice award.

• Our 2026 award presentations will happen Saturday evening at the ‘Reveal’, a ticketed event.
  All award news will be posted when the sale opens at noon on Sunday.  The gallery will include a ‘feature wall’ with award winning pieces.