Cultural Festival at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

baskets-1001439_640On Saturday, November 14th and Sunday, November 15th, people gathered at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum to enjoy a cultural festival. The festival included food, basketry and cultural traditions of Native people from the Americas.

The program included cooking demonstrations and tastings by Native chefs from across the US including Lois Ellen Frank, a James Beard Award winner. People learned Hopi Piki making and Yurok Alder roasted salmon making. People also learned about basking weaving with top weavers from across the US and Mexico including acclaimed weaver Terrol Dew Johnson.

Partners of the program included: American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI), Native American Culinary Association (NACA), Tohono O’odham Cultural Center & Museum and the Tohono O’odham Community Action (TOCA).

Learn more about the festival and get the entire schedule here.

 

The Grove Holiday Arts and Craft Faire in Chicago

soap-601239_640The Grove Holiday Arts and Craft Faire, co-sponsored by The Grove Heritage Association and the Glenview Park District, is marking its 30th anniversary with an eight day event. The event will support the Grove, a 143 acre nature and historic landmark site and outdoor history musuem.

As Grove Program Supervisor Kris Van Voorhis said, “Coming to The Grove Arts and Craft Faire is an experience, just being here, the grounds decorated so beautifully – at night it’s like walking through a holiday wonderland. We have customers that come from out of town to visit friends or family, who center their visit around our show, and in 2014 we averaged 4,000 shoppers over the eight-day event.”

The preview night will take place on November 4th from 5-9pm and the fair will then continue from November 5-8 and 12-15. The fair will be on Thursdays and Fridays from 10-8 and then Saturdays and Sundays from 10-5pm.

Van Voorhis continued, “This year in the Holiday House, the room will reflect stepping into a warm and cozy Christmas set in someone’s home. Some of our exhibitors have been with us for years, and by changing some of the themes each year, it keeps them thinking of new merchandise to create. Exhibitors are chosen based on handmade quality and uniqueness.”

55 exhibitors will be present at the fair showing everything from ornaments and wearable garments to jewelry, handbags and soaps. Many arts and crafts tends will be represented, like burlap and lace.

Van Voorhis said “Our customers are drawn to natural products, to hand-crafted and rustic items that will help them create a homey traditional holiday, giving warmth and a comforting feeling of home. Many begin their holiday shopping season at The Grove fair, where we try to re-create a setting that rekindles memories of childhood and Christmases past.”

Stowe Foliage Arts Festival

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If you’ve never been to Stowe, Vermont, this just might be the time to go. Right now, as the leaves change and the air grows crisp it’s a glorious time to be in the State. And the 31st Annual Stowe Foliage Arts Festival will be taking place from October 9-11 at the Stowe Events Field. Over 190 exhibitors will be on hand selling their handcrafted work. Work includes everything from home decor and kitchen ware to fine art and heirlooms. The Specialty Food Tent will have Vermont wine and spirit makers, jams, salsas, maple syrup and more.

Entertainment at the fair will include: Spencer Lewis, Storm Cats and Brent McCoy and the Contois School of Music and Brent McCoy. Come and see what it’s all about.

Fall Family Festival at Sea Isle

If you’re in New Jersey this weekend you’ll want to enjoy the Fall Family Festival at Sea Isle. This is a two day family-friendly affair on September 19th and 20th with a Seaside Vendor Craft market on the oceanfront Promenade. There will also be live music by the A-List Band and many free family activities.

The annual Sand Sculpting Demonstration will take place on the JFK Boulevard at 9am.

On Sunday, the 20th, the fun will continue with the Gerard A. Desiderio Antique Auto Show. There will also be Free Guided Historical Trolley Tours every half hour in front of the Excursion Park.

Enjoy the weekend and get more details here.

Upper Arlington Art Festival Worth the Visit

If you’re near Upper Arlington, Ohio over labor day, you will be in for a treat. More than 150 artists and 25,000 visitors will enjoy the 49th annual Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts festival. The festival will include one rather unique painter, Duane C. Palmo. Palmo, a 40-year Upper Arlington resident, died at the age of 72 recently and his work will be posthumously included in the festival. After his death, his wife found hundreds of completed but unframed paintings which will be on display.

All proceeds from the sale of his works at the festival will benefit the Duane C. Palmo Saturday Morning Scholarship Fund at the Columbus College of Art & Design. The scholarship is intended to develop future generations of artists through CCAD’s Saturday Morning Art Classes program.

Last year, the Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival was named one of Sunshine Artist magazine’s “14 Contenders for 2014.” The event will take place from 10-5 on Monday, September 7th at Northam Park in Upper Arlington.

Summer Festivals in Vermont

covered-bridge-380719_640Vermont has some of the best art festivals in the entire country, and the 54th Annual Art in the Park Fine Art & Craft Festivals are certainly part of this list. On August 8-9, and then again on October 10-11, people can enjoy the scene with food, music, craft demonstrations, kids activities and so much more.

The Art in the Park festival has been named one of the “Sunshine Artist 200 Best” and voted Rutland Herald’s Best of the Best in the category of Best Arts Festival.

This is one festival you won’t want to miss.

Art at the Sanctuary

This is a beautiful idea. Enjoy the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary while having a great time at an art fair. You can be part of this fun on June 27-28 where the Sanctuary will host a weekend art fair. The fair includes fine arts, crafts, live music, nature programs and more.

The event takes place at the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, 29322 Modjeska Canyon Road, Silverado, 92676 and costs only $5 per person. More than 40 artists will be part of the two-day fair. Wine tasting and barbecue will also be available for those in attendance for a fee and people can enjoy presentations from Wolf Totem Ambassadors and Reptile Rescue Orange County.

As Karon Cornell, director of Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, said “This annual summertime event is a way to introduce the community to Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary and also helps to support all the programs we have to offer children and adults throughout the year.”

Maple Valley Days Festival in Seattle

If you happen to be in Seattle next month, you’ll want to enjoy the Maple Valley Days festival from June 12-14. This festival draws between 10-15,000 visitors each year and has 120 food and vendor booths. There are 75 parade entrants, carnival rides and more.

It all started in 1050 when a group got together at the Gaffney’s Lake Wilderness Lodge to celebrate and raise funds to buy the area’s first fire engine. Firemen sold tickets for one dollar each with the hope of raising $1000. They managed to raise the funds and the yearly event was born. The festival moved to Lake Wilderness Park in 1998, which became the property of The City of Maple Valley in 2003.

Learn more about the event and have a blast!

A Great Activity for Mother’s Day

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Here is a great idea for Mother’s Day. If you’re in St. Louis, Missouri you can enjoy the 28th Annual Art Fair at Laumeier Sculpture Park at 12580 Rott Road. The event will take place from May 8-10 and admission costs $10 for ages 12 and up. It’s only $5 for little guys, and under five is free.

The fair will include all sorts of art, of course, but it also includes some other unique finds. You can taste a variety of wines with unlimited samples from Missouri wineries at the art fair. You can also taste beers and learn about the Schlafly brewing process. On Sunday, May 10th, there will be a special Mother’s Day brunch with seatings at 10:15 and again at 11:45. The tickets to the brunch include art fair admission.

Volunteers are still needed at the fair, and this can be a fun way to get involved. Volunteers receive an art fair T-shirt, free admission, an invitation to the annual volunteer appreciation picnic and community service credit (for students). Find out more details and have a great time!

Enjoy the {Re}HAPPENING

If you live in Asheville or you’ll be in the area on April 4, you must check out the {Re}HAPPENING. Located at Camp Rockmont at 375 Lake Eden Road, this is a multi-sensory experience that includes art, performance and food. It takes place on the grounds of the Black Mountain College Lake Eden campus.

As explained on their website, “Each year, the {Re}HAPPENING features over 80 local, regional, national, and international artists collaborating on 30+ visual art installations, new media presentations, and performances dependent upon wildly innovative visual and participatory components. As with Cage’s 1952 event, the {Re}HAPPENING is a democratizing art experience, participatory and interactive rather than hierarchical.”

Here is just a small look at the type of art and fun that will be part of the day:

JULIE BECTON GILLUM (Asheville): “AEROSPHERE” butoh dance

LINDSEY BREWER (Asheville): “Grit Graf”- dance

DAVID SANCHEZ BURR (Nevada): “n o w h e r e r a d i o” – sound installation

DALTON CARTER (Asheville): “TV Camp”- sound installation

JENNI COCKRELL (Asheville): “Butoh Tarot”- dance

ZACHARY COOPER (Black Mountain): “:43” -sound installation

AMANDA-RAY DANKO (Asheville): “A Step Into The Elements”- interactive installation

MICHAEL DICKINS + McLEAN FAHNESTOCK(Tennessee): “Rocket Launch” – video

GENE FELICE (Maine): video

ANDREW GOODMAN (Rhode Island): “The Lighthammer Project”- sculptural installation

AMY HAMILTON (Asheville): “Untitled”- performance/installation

ARON KALLAY: “Beyond Twleve”- music performance