Turning 21: ArtFest
ArtFest has come of age.
Spokane’s annual festival of the arts turns 21 today.
Organizers of this free, family-friendly, three-day extravaganza promise a dazzling 21st birthday party with lots of art, food, children’s activities and live music.
Sponsored by the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture and the Spokane Art School, ArtFest returns to Coeur d’Alene Park in Spokane’s historic Browne’s Addition.
Throughout its history the homegrown festival has drifted back and forth between the shady neighborhood park and the nearby museum.
“People love the park,” says Joyce Cameron, director of development and communications for the museum. “There is a lot more space in the park than on the museum grounds.”
Glass blower Steve Adams recalls the very first ArtFest in 1986.
“I remember Harold (Balazs) and I were there with booths,” says Adams. “It was a much, much smaller event. It’s grown a lot since then.”
That first year there were 30 juried crafters. Today’s festival-goers have 132 artists’ booths to browse through.
“There is a terrific mix of artists this year,” says Karl Hollander, executive director of Spokane Art School. “Many are at the very pinnacle of their careers.”
People will find finely crafted ceramics, glass works, photography, furniture, paintings, prints, toys and wearable art.
Adams returns with a new series of handblown, bottle-shaped vessels and exquisite, jellyfish-inspired paperweights in a variety of sizes and colors.
Spokane photographer Linda Lowry, a second-time ArtFest participant, is showing a collection of color images from Europe and the Pacific Northwest.
“One picture I’m bringing is called ‘Sunrise Solitude,’ taken in the fall along the Payette River near Smiths Ferry, Idaho,” says Lowry.
“I got up early one morning and set up my camera,” she says. “There was a light mist hanging over the valley and a solitary heron was wading in the shallows. It was one of those incredibly lucky shots.”
Back by popular demand is a large selection of handcrafted jewelry. As many as 25 skilled crafters are showing a variety of jewelry ranging from sculptural, woven beadwork to torched and hammered sterling silver necklaces.
All the artwork in ArtFest is required to be original from concept to completion, with no commercial productions or reproductions allowed.
Throughout the weekend, 10 artisans will demonstrate how they make art and answer any questions.
Over in the Make It Art area, young artists can again indulge in a variety of hands-on creative activities with clay, paper, wood and paint. For a nominal fee families can participate in take-home art projects such as fish printing, wood sculpture and sand candles.
New this year are Sock Puppets, where kids create their own funny characters using socks and scraps of cloth and beads.
Not far from the Make It Art tent are 13 food booths offering the traditional standards of Mary Lou’s Homemade Ice Cream and Old Fashioned Country Kettle Corn along with the new tastes of Huli Huli Chicken.
Adding flavor to all the eating and artistic activities is a continuous variety of live music from the festival’s performance stage. The schedule includes folk-rock, blues and African percussion bands.
“I’ve tried to keep a more eclectic mix this year,” says music coordinator Brandie Louck, production manager for the Big Easy Concert House. “There are a number of up-and-coming local artists that play the local club shows.”
On Friday night, the stage will pulsate to the spicy salsa sounds of Milonga between 6:30 and 8 p.m. The Saturday night headliner is An Dochas, a group that brings authentic Irish sounds along with a troupe of Celtic dancers.
In addition to being a fun and lively party, ArtFest is also a major fundraiser for the museum and art school. Twenty cents out of each dollar spent on art and food goes to support art programs and services.
Because of limited on-street parking, a special STA shuttle is running a continuous loop service between ArtFest and the free Park and Ride lot under I-90 at Jefferson and Fourth. Cost is only 50 cents each way.