LIFE on the Road

BY ALYSSA DILLARD

Once you’ve mastered your craft, you may want to hit the road to sell your work. Or maybe you’d like to purchase a one-of-a-kind statement piece for your home from a fellow crafter. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, these art festivals become part of the tight-knit community of art lovers by scheduling a trip around these events.

Next year, over 30,000 art enthusiasts are expected to pile into historic Memorial Park in the heart of downtown Houston for the springtime Bayou City Art Festival. The biannual event will return in the fall to Sam Houston Park. Festival organizers are putting out an open call for artists to submit applications for the March festival before the deadline on December 4th. There is a $45 fee for applications, but you have the chance to win cash prizes at this juried fine arts festival. The Bayou City Art Festival welcomes 300 national and international artists to exhibit their work across 19 craft categories. It’s not just the artists showing off their creativity either. Kids will love creating their own artwork to take home at the Active Imagination Zone. For the grown-ups, there is a craft beer garden and a boutique wine garden. There will also be plenty of live musical performances throughout the two-day event.

It is important to note that tickets must be pre-purchased online; none will be sold at the gate. This is a cashless event.

If you love art but don’t want to travel out of state for some original pieces, a quick drive down the Turner Turnpike can take you to some great art festivals in our state capital. In April, you can visit Art Council OKC’s Festival of the Arts at Bicentennial Park in downtown Oklahoma City. The free event has become an annual tradition, now in its 57th year of being the unofficial “rite-of-spring” for the city. Over 650,000 patrons attend the 6-day festival every year to see the works of over 140 local and national artists. In addition to the visual artwork, attendees can enjoy live music and dance performances across three stages as well as award-winning dishes from local restaurants. Family members of all ages will have a blast creating their own masterpieces with hands-on art activities from painting to pottery!

You’ll have to wait until 2024 before selling your art at this festival. Artist applications closed in September for the 2023 festival, but food vendor applications are open, and performing artist applications will be available on the festival’s website starting in December.

After the Festival of the Arts, you’ll have to take a trip back to OKC in May for the annual Paseo Art Festival in the historic Paseo Arts District. Admission to the event is free and you can even catch a free shuttle. Guests can check out mixed media pieces including photography, sculpture, woodworking, and more! This event will feature more than 50 live musical performances across two stages and there will be plenty of yummy treats at the food court. There’s even a free children’s area Saturday through Monday with fun activities like spin art and face painting. Pets are welcome at the festival as long as they are on a leash.

If you’d like to sell some of your work, artist applications are $30 for the 2023 Festival. Applications must be submitted by January 11

In 2023, Kansas City will be ringing in the fall season with one of the longest-running art festivals in the country, The Plaza Art Fair. Thousands will fill the city across nine blocks to attend one of the top-ranked, juried fine arts events featuring over 200 artists. This fair is fun for the whole family with interactive art projects for kids at the Broadway Activity Block. You can even bring your dogs! The Plaza Art Fair celebrates more than just visual art. There’s live music on three different stages throughout the whole weekend. Artists and local restaurant booths compete for awards at the fair, so there will be plenty of delicious food. Admission to the fair is always free.

If you’d like to enter your original artwork or craft into the Plaza Art Fair, applications open in January on their website with a $40 application fee. Artists’ work must fit into a specific category such as metalwork or ceramics.

1427 S. Indianapolis Ave., Tulsa, OK 74112 RSVP to Melodie (918) 703-9454 www.LIFEseniorservices.org

Less than $6 per month includes activities. Call Melodie at (918) 703-9454 or go to www.LIFEseniorservices.org.

“The Natural State” is known for its spectacular outdoors and wilderness areas especially amidst the Ozarks of Northwest Arkansas. War Eagle Fair hopes to showcase just that with a craft fair like no other. Located outside of the small town of Hindsville, crafters have been selling their work in the scenic river valley since Blanche Elliot founded the fair in 1954. War Eagle Fair is always held in autumn to display Arkansas’ beautiful fall foliage. Hundreds of thousands of visitors attend the craft fair every year with more than 250 booths selling unique pieces. Admission to War Eagle Fair is free, but you’ll pay $5 for parking. The annual event has classic fair food like turkey legs and burgers, but it’s only a 30-minute drive to Fayetteville or Eureka Springs for those wanting to try some local food.

If you are interested in selling your handmade crafts or art pieces, War Eagle Fair is a great place to begin. There is no exhibitor application fee and organizers are now accepting applications for the 2023 fair from November 1 until the start of the show.

October 15 – December 7

LIFE’s Medicare Assistance Program is scheduling appointments to compare Medicare Part D Drug plans for 2023.