Mr. Speaker, spring in downtown St. Catharines brings with it the In the Soil Arts Festival. This three-day festival brings together a wide range of Niagara artists, who provide an explosion of creativity and unique audience experiences. The festival nurtures the creation of new work, showcases talent, encourages innovation, and provides intimate and uncommon platforms for audiences to experience.
In the Soil is Niagara's homegrown arts festival that is working to make Niagara culturally distinct. This year, 2018, marks the festival's 10th anniversary, and I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible work of Annie Wilson, Deanna Lynn Jones, and all others in Niagara who have contributed to making “our little festival that could” an amazing success over the past decade.
In the Soil has been a labour of love and is an incredible celebration of the arts in Niagara. The festival planted its roots in downtown St. Catharines, and the community has grown alongside it over the past 10 years. Congratulations to the In the Soil team on a great decade of success.