Drifting into the mainstream October 4, 2009 21:16 Textile artist Eleanor Hannan talks about the importance of The Drift Festival on Main Street.

October 8, 2009

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Georgia Straight- Drift—Art on Main isn't your usual studio tour- by Janet Smith October 1 2009

October 2, 2009

Artist Eleanor Hannan won't be setting up a typical studio display this weekend when she opens her doors for the Drift—Art on Main event. Then again, the annual Drift isn't your usual studio tour. On the second day of the self-guided walks that run Saturday and Sunday (October 3 and 4), Hannan will be exhibiting her work, embroidered abstracts and figurative images you'd swear, from afar, were painted. She'll be showing older pieces, works in progress, and even thread boards to let visitors get in on the stitch artistry. But she'll also be performing something she's coined "sewing-machine busking". Hannan has hired a costumed model to sit for her while she demonstrates her impromptu stitch "drawings" on cloth for most of the day. "I think of the sewing machine as my instrument," she explains in a phone conversation from her studio. "I use the threads like paint colours; I mix them."

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Vancouver Courier Silent auction to be even quieter during Main Street art walk Non-profit society lost party space two weeks before gala Cheryl Rossi, Vancouver Courier

October 2, 2009

Published: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 Diane Lefroy and other volunteers spent a busy Wednesday two weeks ago hyping an upcoming party and art walk on Main Street. But when Lefroy checked her email Sept. 16 at 5 p.m., she learned the inaugural gala fundraiser for The Drift had to be cancelled. Apparently, the fire marshal told Great Northern Way Campus administrators that the party venue, The Hangar, can no longer be used for public events. "I had never imagined in my wildest dreams... that we couldn't have the venue after we just sent out all our publicity," Lefroy said. "We were totally shocked."

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West Ender ARTS: Main Street’s Drift Festival steers clear of the mainstream POSTED BY: MICHAEL HARRIS 10/02/2008

October 3, 2008

In the minds of a certain demographic familiar only with its trendy condo developments and high-priced boutiques, Main Street has morphed into a botched urban experiment whose hipster denizens try to out-cool one another with cleverly silk-screened T-shirts. While a leisurely stroll down Main on any given weekend afternoon will doubtless dredge up a good number of vapid wannabees swathed in faux vintage and skinny jeans, the heart of the area — its artist community — is still going strong. This weekend’s fourth annual self-guided arts tour, the Drift Festival (Oct. 3-5), delivers the work of 100 artists — and the artists themselves — to neighbourhood cafés, shops, and rarely open-to-the-public studios along Main from 1st to 30th. Herewith, five bright spots to light your way.

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Seattle Times

August 19, 2008

VANCOUVER, B.C. April 24, 2008 Once-gritty Main Street has evolved into Vancouver's hip strip It's official. Main Street, where women of a certain profession once worked the street corners in stilettos, is certifiably hip. It has a catchy moniker, SoMa (South Main), plastered over brochures and mentioned on the Vancouver tourism Web site.

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