HAMILTON, Ont. - Your chances of bumping into an artist are probably higher in West Bolton, Que., than anywhere else in Canada.

The tiny community in Quebec's scenic Eastern Townships is the only municipality in the country with over 10 per cent of its labour force engaged in arts occupations, according to a new study by Hill Strategies Research.

To be precise, 45 members of its 430-strong work force (or 10.47 per cent) work in the arts, putting West Bolton ahead of Cape Dorset, Nunavut, (9.47 per cent) in second place and B.C.'s Denman and Hornby Islands (9.17 per cent per cent) in third.

Way behind in the rankings is Vancouver (2.35 per cent), which has the highest concentration of artists living in large Canadian cities, the study says.

Located about 120 kilometres east of Montreal, West Bolton is part of the annual Tour des arts, when artists in several Eastern Townships communities open their homes and studios to visitors. This year's tour will be held July 10-18, but some artists' studios are open year-round by appointment.

The study was commissioned by the Canadian Heritage Department and is based on data from Statistics Canada's 2006 census. Artists included actors, choreographers, craftspeople, composers, conductors, dancers, directors, musicians, producers, singers, visual artists and writers.

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On the web:

www.tourdesarts.com