I spent much of today perusing the artist booths at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. Thursday (The festival runs Wednesday (kids day) to Sunday evening) is generally the day locals come out. The "Arts Festival also has several musical performances occurring simultaneously and I got to catch the tail end of a duo that was a joy to listen to.
The visual artists themselves cover a wide gamut of styles and mediums. There were booths and booths of jewelry (I went with my 19 year old daughter who loves jewelry), photographs from around the world, the requisite Amish photographs of this area, collage clocks, glass, wood items such as bowls and kitchen utensils, marbled paper (I bought a box of note-cards), dulcimers, bird houses and more.
It is always inspiring to see lots of creativity in my neighborhood as well as getting a chance to talk to others who make art whether through dance, visual arts, music or performance. Because I live in a fairly rural place opportunities for artist dialog is somewhat limited. I'll probably stay clear of town until Saturday night because of my aversion to large crowds. The annual AIDS fundraiser casino night and drag show is held then and looks to be a blast. Until then it'll be stretching a new canvas, gardening, picking huckleberries and the required hike in the woods.
