The Penn Valley Art Festival will be returning to Western Gateway Park for its second year. Scheduled for June 3 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., it is sure to be a creative delight for festival goers of all ages. There will be a wide range of artistic expressions in a variety mediums, including textiles, ceramics, oils, acrylics, woodworking, and jewelry. There will also be artists exhibiting glasswork and encaustics.
“The goal,” says organizer Destiny Bradt, “is to create an event where fine art and quality crafts are showcased, giving artists an opportunity to join together and share their amazing talents with the community.”
The festival will also host a kid’s area with fun and creative activities such as New Life Nursery’s pot painting and succulent planting and the Rotary’s scratch art and magnet decorating. There will also be face painting, rocket launching hosted by Penn Valley 4H, and a visit from our local mermaid Meredith Cherry.
“We want this to be an event for the entire family,” says Bradt.
Destiny is strongly affiliated with the International Watercolor Society Globe Art Network whose goal is to create art events throughout the world in order to promote peace and harmony through art. IWS Globe Art Network has institutions and branches in over 120 countries and is the largest art network in the world.
“Seeing what other branches and institutions are doing is very inspiring. Both India and Albania have large, high-quality events with people gathering from all over the world in celebration of art and watercolors. Eventually, I would like to include demonstrations and workshops, perhaps even with master artists from the international community.”
The Western Gateway Park Foundation has been key in allowing this event to take place, providing the use of the park and making it possible to raise funds to put on events for the community.
“This year we received quite a bit of support from our local community. Ben Franklin, Tuff Grass, and both Wildwood Business Center I and II enabled us to help pay for the publicity and entertainment for this event. We are very grateful for them trusting us and allowing us to put together an art event for the community.”
Along with local food vendors, including the trending Thai Chic, the festival will have live music from local musicians Amanda Gray-Bonham and the Jason Wilkes band. It is certain to be a wonderful event with something for everybody.
