News Clippings - A bit of FLAG Waving from 2005

FLAG is very much a part of theTownship of Langley community and sincerely appreciates the ongoing support received from the local newspapers.

Shoes show way to original exhibit The Shoe Show is the Fort Langley Artists Group's opening exhibit for the 2005 season.
Erin McKay, The Langley Advance

Fort Langley artists have taken giants steps to promote their fun and fashionable Shoe Show. They have a lot of sole and know how to kick up their heels. And this weekend they will prove it to the public, as members of the Fort Langley Artists Group put hundreds of pairs of shoes on exhibit - and strategically place them around local shops and walkways.

The colourful display in the village will signal the opening of The Shoe Show at the CN Train Station at Mavis Ave. and Glover Road. The exhibit will be officially unveiled on Sunday, April 24, 1 - 4 p.m.

"We had a big shoe-in," FLAG member Susan Falk said of the tongue-in-cheek exhibit, which saw artists collect more than 500 shoes from friends, neighbours, and their own closets. "The word went out and everybody started to deliver shoes by the boxload," said Falk. "We had a blast." To promote the show, FLAG is teaming up with local merchants for a hunt that will allow participants to take home some unusual footwear, receive a piece of original art, and help the Langley Heritage Society.

Dozens of shoes have been hidden in and around local shops. They have been equipped with tags reading "Find my solemate," and the public is invited to try to find - and keep - a matching pair. Some of the fancy footwear up for grabs include colourful clogs and zebra-stripped gum boots, as well as rainbow running shoes and painted pumps.

The hunt is currently on in the village, and will run until Sunday. People who find a pair of shoes can bring them to the CN Station during the Shoe Show's opening, and can claim them in exchange for a donation to the Heritage Society, which rents out the train station to FLAG. Those who bring back a pair of shoes will also be given one of several raku tiles that were made by FLAG artists. Fort Langley merchants loved the idea of the hunt, said artist Margo Harrison, and some even joked that they wanted to keep the shoes themselves.

"The businesses are quite excited, quite keen," she said, adding that the artists were pleased with the reaction to their plan. "We wanted to get the village involved," Harrison said. "It's a win/win situation." On the day of the opening, a variety of shoes will also line the path and walkway leading up to the exhibit in the train station. Once inside the CN Station's gallery, visitors will find that shoes are the inspiration for the artists' paintings, sculptures, and multi-media works, as well as their canvases.

In Falk's case, a pair of tall boots served as the perfect medium upon which to paint trees. The result: Forrest Gum(p) Boots. "Some of them are really ugly and gaudy; some of them are works of art," she said of the shoes featured in and around the exhibition.

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