40+ artists, 10 days, and a city full of surprises

Art Out Side, PoMoArts’ multidisciplinary arts festival, ran August 7–16 with over 80 artists, 14 community partners, and programming scattered across the city — waterfront to commercial hubs, alleyways to park benches, and a few locations the organizers deliberately kept secret. Nearly half the artists were local to the Tri-Cities.

“Almost every single event is meant to surprise people who don’t even know the event is happening,” said Festival Manager Cristiana Ripeanu. “We hope it will attract people who go out in Port Moody without necessarily seeking out an artistic experience.”

The lineup spanned nearly every artistic discipline: installations, dance, music, film, performance, painting — some to witness, others to interact with. Port Moody Pulse covered the festival as a Media Ambassador, including artist profiles and on-the-ground coverage throughout.

Port Moody calls itself the City of the Arts. For ten days in August, that claim was hard to argue with.