Squamish Mural Walk Festival: Six years of creating a downtown that’s roam worthy
Downtown Squamish has always been a place to gather, connect, and explore. This weekend, it becomes even more vibrant as The Big Weekend transforms our streets, parks, and public spaces into a celebration of art, community, and local businesses.
At Downtown Squamish, we believe our downtown should be roam worthy, a place where people slow down, wander a little further, discover something unexpected, and leave feeling inspired. The Big Weekend brings that vision to life.
Across Open Street Day, the Squamish Arts Festival, and the Squamish Mural Walk Festival every event offers something new to experience. Cleveland Avenue becomes a people-first destination, artists transform blank walls into vibrant works of public art, and Junction Park and Stan Clarke Park come alive with music, performances, and creative experiences. Whether you’re discovering a new favourite shop, watching an artist at work, or simply enjoying the atmosphere, The Big Weekend is an invitation to roam.
This is more than murals… This year marks the sixth Squamish Mural Walk Festival, and it’s incredible to reflect on how far the festival has come. What began as an ambitious idea to bring artists into Downtown Squamish has grown into a celebrated public art festival that has welcomed muralists from across Canada and beyond. Together, they’ve transformed walls into landmarks, creating a growing outdoor gallery that reflects the creativity, stories, and spirit of our community.
But the Mural Walk Festival has always been about more than painting walls. It’s about creating reasons to explore downtown Squamish. Every mural encourages someone to roam down a street they may not have visited before, discover a local business, stop for a conversation, or experience downtown from a different perspective. Public art has a remarkable way of bringing people together, and over the past six years we’ve watched these murals become part of the identity of our downtown. That’s what being Roam Worthy is all about.
It’s because of community effort… While the finished murals often take centre stage, what many people don’t see is the incredible community effort behind every piece of art.
Creating a mural festival takes months of planning and collaboration. Artists, property owners, businesses, volunteers, sponsors, suppliers, and community partners all play an important role in bringing the festival to life.
We’re incredibly grateful to our funding partners and sponsors, whose investment in arts and culture helps make the festival possible. We’re equally thankful to the many local businesses that generously provide meals, accommodation, equipment, supplies, services, and countless acts of support throughout the week. Every contribution, whether financial or in-kind helps create an experience that benefits our entire community.
We’re also proud to continue our partnership with Squamish Arts, whose programming complements the Mural Walk Festival beautifully. Together, we’ve created a weekend where creativity spills into every corner of downtown, offering something for everyone to enjoy.
A heartfelt thank you also goes to the District of Squamish for their continued partnership and support. Their commitment to public spaces, arts, and community events has helped this festival grow year after year, creating experiences that make Downtown Squamish more vibrant, welcoming, and connected.
Six years with Alex Fowkes… One of the greatest privileges of producing the Squamish Mural Walk Festival has been working alongside Alex Fowkes, our Creative Director, for the past six years.
Alex’s vision, experience, and passion for public art have helped shape the festival into what it is today. From curating an exceptional lineup of artists to mentoring the creative process and ensuring every mural contributes something meaningful to the collection, his leadership has been instrumental in building a festival that continues to grow in both quality and reputation.
Over six years, we’ve developed a partnership that’s built on trust, honest conversations, and a healthy amount of creative debate. We challenge each other, we don’t always see things the same way, and every now and then one of us has to convince the other to trust the process.
We’ve learned each other’s strengths, quirks, and blind spots. As two people whose brains don’t always work in the most conventional ways, we’ve had our moments of overthinking, hyper-focusing, and tackling problems from completely different angles. But that’s also what makes the partnership work. We’ve learned to lean into each other’s strengths, laugh at our own quirks, and appreciate that the best ideas often come from a respectful challenge rather than immediate agreement.
I know I’m incredibly grateful for Alex and everything he’s helped build over the past six years… you’ll have to ask him if he feels the same way about me!…lol.
Every year presents new opportunities and new challenges. No two walls are the same. Every mural has its own story, its own technical considerations, and its own creative journey. Add in lifts, paint deliveries, weather, road closures, artist schedules, volunteer coordination, and countless moving pieces, and it’s easy to see why producing a mural festival is equal parts exciting, challenging, and deeply rewarding.
Yet somehow, once the paint starts going on the walls, everything comes together.
Why do we do what we do… People stop to watch artists work. Children ask questions about the murals. Visitors discover businesses they’ve never stepped into before. Conversations happen between strangers. Streets become gathering places. Those moments are why we do this.
The murals themselves are lasting gifts to our community, but it’s the connections they create that matter most. They encourage us to slow down, look a little closer, and experience downtown with fresh eyes.
As we celebrate six years of the Squamish Mural Walk Festival, we’re filled with gratitude for the artists who share their talent, the businesses and property owners who open their doors and walls, the volunteers who generously give their time, our sponsors and supporters, Squamish Arts, the District of Squamish, and everyone who believes in the power of public art.
The Big Weekend is a celebration of everything that makes Downtown Squamish special: creativity, collaboration, local businesses, and community. We hope you’ll come downtown this weekend, take your time, explore a little further, and discover something unexpected. After all, that’s what being Roam Worthy is all about.
Kerry Neil – Executive Director
