32nd Festival of the Arts hits the streets
Crowds of people will fill Bigfork this weekend for the 32nd annual Festival of the Arts.
The festival will feature 154 juried booths featuring arts, crafts, music, food and other entertainment.
Regular attendees of the festival will find that about 25 percent of the booths this year are new, organizer Donna Lawson said. These include new pottery, sculpture and food booths as well as an artist who works with rhubarb leaves. The number of booths is on par with last year's event.
The festival, which has been held the first weekend of August since 1978, usually draws about 6,000 people to the Village.
"It's just a great array of vendors," Lawson said. "You can get your Christmas shopping done early."
Artists who participate in the festival are picked by a jury. Applications were due back in April and jurying took place later that month.
NEW LOOK
The festival received a face-lift this year with an updated logo created by local graphic artist Jill Gotschalk.
"I was totally honored," Gotschalk said of being asked to design the logo for this arts-based event. "It's fun. I just love doing these. I'm a logo-holic. And this (event) is very close to my heart as an artist."
The previous logo featured four red-and-green humming birds in front of a yellow sun in addition to the event's title. Gotschalk chose a more modern font for the title and simplified the design to one humming bird filled with a rainbow splash of color.
PARKING
Parking is a challenge each year for the festival with the limited spaces available downtown. The fact that the Bigfork Schools' parking lots will be open this year should help alleviate some of the congestion, Lawson said.
Downtown is effectively closed to cars for the weekend and so attendees will be able to park at the schools' parking lots, Potoczny Park and Bethany Lutheran Church, all of which will have shuttle service running every few minutes. All cars must be off Electric Avenue by 6 a.m. both days of the festival or they will be towed away.
PURPOSE
Prior to 1994, the funds from application and booth fees from the event went toward building and maintaining the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts. These days, the Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce organizes and runs the event and the proceeds go to its community activities and projects. These efforts include Christmas in Bigfork, the Easter Egg Hunt, the Fourth of July parade, Bigfork High School scholarships and contributions to the Bigfork Elves and emergency services, in addition to various advertising for the Village, its merchants and events.
"Without the revenues from this event, we would not be able to put back into the community all that we do," the chamber wrote in a letter to merchants.
As an effort to help its members, the chamber is offering businesses the opportunity to advertise specials at its information booth and on the back of the maps distributed of the fair.
The festival will run Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Volunteers to help with parking are still needed. For more information, call the chamber at 837-5888 or visit www.bigforkfestivalofthearts.com.
Entertainment schedule
A variety of acts will perform throughout the two-day festival including several that are new to the event. Here's a schedule of what's on tap:
Saturday, Aug. 7
10 to 11 a.m. — Paul Sebesta/Bear Bench Union
11 a.m. to Noon — Thom Harris
Noon to 1 p.m. — Steve Prunty
1 to 2 p.m. — Left Over Biscuits
2 to 3 p.m. — Jae Hatt
• to 4 p.m. — John Sabestinas
4 to 5 p.m. — Sole Expression Dance Studio
Sunday, Aug. 8
10 to 11 a.m. — Paul Sebesta
11 a.m. to Noon — Denise Sterhan
Noon to 1 p.m. — Pam Leisinger & Roy Wilhelm
1 to 2 p.m. — Montana Old Time Fiddlers
2 to 3 p.m. — Robin Gough
• to 4 p.m. — Dan Dubuque
4 to 5 p.m. — Sick Pony