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Crafts West
The Western Arts and Crafts Trail
On this route, we will be travelling along parts of the North
Cape Coastal Drive as we take a tour of the western towns, villages and harbours of PEI.
Starting from Summerside, we'll follow
Route 2 to Miscouche where a stop at the
Acadian Museum/Musee Acadien, complete
with gift shop, will provide you with a wonderful historical view of the Acadians on PEI from 1720 until present.
Continuing along Route 2, drop by
Boutique A-Point on the
Wellington boardwalk where you'll find handmade,
one-of-a-kind, reversible ladies and children's jackets, men's clothing and linens.
From Wellington, head south on Route
177 to Mont Carmel and visit "La Chanson d'Angèle"
boutique at Hôtel-Village-sur-l'Océan.
Follow the North Cape Coastal Drive to
Abrams Village and stop by
le Centre
D'Artisanat/Abram-Village Handcraft Co-Op Ltd. for a selection of Acadian shirts, woodwork, pottery and locally
made crafts, weaving, quilts and rugs.
Stay on the North Cape Coastal Drive and enjoy the views
overlooking Egmont Bay. If you're interested in
basket-weaving you may want to head east on Route 127 to
Richmond and visit
Basket Weavers of PEI Co-op. Here you'll find
ash splint baskets and natural materials such as wild cherry bark, sea kelp, rush and sweet grass.
Following the North Cape Coastal Drive, don't forget to drop by the
West Point Lighthouse Craft Shop, in
Cedar Dunes Provincial Park. This charming
shop offers a unique selection of locally made handcrafts and quilts, casual wearables and jewellery. From here you
can visit a number of arts and crafts stores in the area.
In O'Leary you'll find the
Prince Edward Island Potato Museum.
Items for sale in their gift shop include ceramics, potato bag pants, potato oven mitts, canvas book bags, and other
PEI souvenirs. For locally made hand quilted quilts and over 1,500 bolts of cotton, quilting supplies and books, visit
Quilt Gallery and Fabric Crafts 'n More.
Leaving O'Leary, and just before you arrive
at Route 2, take a few moments to visit the Windmill Craft Cooperative in Woodstock
for quilts, ceramics, knitting and dried flower arrangements. Heading north on Route 2, the next stop is
Bloomfield to visit
The Old Mill Craft Company. Here you'll
find fine woolen items, weaving, quilting, artwork and hand-carved decoys. Then, drop by the Back Road Folk Art in
Elmsdale and discover antiques, birdhouses, sculptured
wood, driftwood, sea glass art and much more.
Continuing on, you'll arrive at North Cape, where
the tides of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Northumberland Strait meet over Canada's longest natural rock reef. Be sure to
visit the North Cape Nature and Technology Centre,
where you'll find a selection of Island handcrafts.
On your return journey to Summerside,
take the North Cape Coastal Drive on Route 12 from
North Cape to enjoy the views of the Gulf of
St. Lawrence. You'll connect with Route 2 just before Portage
and if you head east on Route 134, you will soon be at Lennox
Island. Here you can visit Indian
Art & Craft of North America. This shop features many examples of traditional and non-traditional native crafts
such as Mi'kmaq ash-splint baskets, beadwork, carvings, drums, pipes, marks, headdresses, moccasins and many birch-bark
novelty items.
Next stop on our tour is the
West Island Art Gallery in
Ellerslie. This is a showcase for professional
artists from Western PEI. The Gallery features painting, print-making, sculpture, photography, fabric art and more.
From here, you can continue on your return journey to
Summerside along the scenic
North Cape Coastal Drive.
