Sudbury’s Up Here festival celebrates 10 years of music and murals

A music and arts festival in Sudbury is celebrating a significant milestone.

Now in its 10th year, the Up Here festival kicked off Thursday and runs until Sunday, featuring everything from music to murals. Organizers expect this will be one of its biggest years yet.

“When we talked about that idea ten years ago, people looked at us like we're aliens,” said festival co-founder Christian Pelletier.

“But now they get it, they understand it. They're able to see it. We see families and elders doing their own mural tours on weekends. It's incredible. Sudbury has really turned into a hotspot for public art in Canada.”

To celebrate the milestone, Up Here added a fourth day to its lineup, with multiple artists performing each night, five new murals and eight immersive art installations.

Up Here also partnered with Downtown Sudbury to extend its space.

"We got Ollie North doing skateboarding downtown,” said Downtown Sudbury’s Jeff MacIntyre.

“So we're using the little nooks and crannies, the spaces that they're not using while they get this event going to put on even more excitement.”

Now in its 10th year, the Up Here festival kicked off Thursday and runs until Sunday, featuring everything from music to murals. Organizers expect this will be one of its biggest years yet. (Photo from video)

Up Here's emerging artist this year is someone who we met last year: North Bay's Corbin Elliot, who was an aspiring muralist working as a volunteer, hoping to break out on his own.

Elliot's mural is called 'A Celebration of Life.'

“It's honoring all the aspects of life in … wonderfully weird ways,” Elliot said.

“The good, the bad, the joyous, the, you know, not so joyous, but all together. The thread throughout it is this symbol of hope and transformation.”

While last year's events were scaled back due to anticipated provincial funding cuts, organizers said this year is much different.

“We got a whole bunch of extra funding because it's our 10th anniversary,” Pelletier said.

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“So we're really able to flex that muscle this year and reach those ambitious dreams that we've had for our 10th year.”

As for the next decade, Up Here has plans to expand even further, and hopes to one day add a conference, a film festival and more art installations.

The festival runs Aug. 18.