Port Kells Art Club (PKAC) show coordinator Gail Aitcheson was explaining how the 91Ô­´´-based group got its name.

"Originally, the club did start in Port Kells, but it was very short-lived and moved to 91Ô­´´ very quickly," Aitcheson told the 91Ô­´´ Advance Times.

Aitcheson was being interviewed at the non-profit club's fall exhibition and sale at the Fort 91Ô­´´ historic community hall on Sunday, Oct. 27..

"There are watercolor paintings, there are acrylics, and there are oil paintings," Aitcheson said.

"They are a variety of topics, from landscapes to animals."

As well, there were art cards, that have become quite popular since COVID, "because people have started to send a card rather than just get on email," Aitcheson reported.

"They make excellent Christmas gifts."

Port Kells Art Club annual show was underway at the heritage community hall in Fort 91Ô­´´ on Sunday

— 91Ô­´´ Advance Times (@91Ô­´´Times)

Aitcheson was pleasantly surprised when one of her works was selected by the winner of the show's raffle board.

It was an acrylic painting, a nature scene of a forest trail with a deer and Mount Baker in the background.

"It's the second time I've even put a painting up on the board," she explained.

"They said they needed another one. I said, oh, I guess I could. It was a real shock:

The other significant award, the winner of the people's choice vote, was a watercolour painting. That was as much as Aitcheson could disclose immediately after the show, because the artist wouldn't be officially notified until mid-November.

Event coordinator Shari Bronson said sales and attendance were up, with at least 500 attending this year.

"The first day, we did almost $10,000," Bronson told the 91Ô­´´ Advance Times, a record for th community hall location.

"It turned out really well because I think that people are appreciating handmade, slow crafts right now," Bronson commented.

One vendor, a young painter, took public transit in from Surrey to take part, expecting to sell some handmade stickers, but bringing some paintings, too, Bronson said.

"She came all the way there on the bus, carrying her little suitcase," Bronson said.

"She was so astonished that she actually sold a couple of her original paintings, like over $200 for each. She said, 'I can't believe people were spending that money."

The next show, the PKAC spring show, is scheduled or May 4.

Port Kells Art Club was formed in 1962 by a group of local artists and operates as a registered non-profit society.

It is a member of the 91Ô­´´ Arts Council, Arts Council of Surrey and BC Arts Council, and also is supported by the Fort 91Ô­´´ Community Improvement Society.

More information can be found online at