Hamilton’s Festival of Friends founder Bill Powell has died
Bill Powell is being remembered as the father of the arts and cultural revival in Hamilton, a bearded renaissance man who was convinced a city known for smokestacks and Ticats had a heart of artistic gold.
Best known for establishing Hamilton's Festival of Friends in Gage Park in 1976, Powell was involved in numerous other arts events over the past 40 years, including musical venues Ebony Knight and Knight II Coffee House.
Powell's wife Lynne announced his death on Facebook at St. Joseph's Hospital on Sunday.
"His death was unexpected, but peaceful," she wrote.
Powell ran the festival for more than two decades.
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According to a biography on his website, he was born in Hamilton in 1938. Since the late 50's Bill Powell worked in art and sculpture, producing his own work and using his entrepreneurial skills to promote fellow artists.
He began with street art shows and concerts and as his business acumen grew he opened coffeehouses, art galleries, published magazines, organized craft shows, festivals and touring exhibits.
For 25 years he ran the Festival of Friends, and since 2000 he has been able to devote fulltime to his real passion – painting.
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/58...well-has-died/
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