54th Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival
Over 225 outstanding artists representing 33 states and three countries are participating in this weekends 54th WinterPark Sidewalk Art Festival. The artists were selected from over 1,100 applicants by an independent, out of state judging panel and 62 of the 225 are past winners which ensures a very select and high quality festival.
The festival is one of high importance for the artists as some very serious prize money is at stake. $72,500 will be awarded over the weekend and funds for prizes this year have increased by $5,000 after a generous donation by the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation. The Charles Morse Museum of American Art also contributed $2,500 for the “Distinguished Work of Art” award.
A visit to the festival is highly recommended as Park Avenue is shut off to traffic ensuring a safe and enjoyable environment to wander around. The festival is one of the nation’s most prestigious outdoor events and is consistently rated among the top shows in the country. Approximately 350,000 visitors are drawn to the event over its three days and you’ll find a wide variety of fine arts and crafts in many categories including clay, digital art, drawing, fiber, glass, jewelry, metal, mixed media, painting, photography, sculpture and wood.
The festival has three merchandise tents and a wonderful Children’s Workshop Village where young ones can enjoy creating their own artwork. Easel painting is always very popular and local art centers and museums feature a variety of fun, hands on art activities for children. Also, the Leon Theodore Schools Exhibit will be the place to go to see young artists giving festival attendees a show within a show.
Of course, a festival is not a festival unless it features food and music. The music continues throughout the day as various entertainers take the concert stage. You can see the Paint It Black Quartet, Rollins Brass Quintet, Rich Walker Trio, Jeff Kashiwa, Bailey Callahan, Brian Simpson and several others. On the food side, you can literally enjoy a feast as not only are all of Park Avenues most famous restaurants open but most have spilled out into the street (see above left photo). There’s also a wide variety of gourmet treats from an overwhelming variety of food booths that lie beside the exhibits and there’s also a nice beer garden to sit back, relax and chill out.
Hope you can make it!
Here’s some video and you can see more photographs at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
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