‘Good Crowd’ Attends Chautauqua’s 8th Annual Arts Festival
Declan Scott, 3, pictured with his mom, Jill Scott, shows off his recently created blow painting at the 8th annual Chautauqua-Wawasee Fine Arts Festival held in Oakwood Park Saturday, May 28. His father is Darrell Scott. The Scott family hails from Chicago.
By Ray Balogh
InkFreeNews
SYRACUSE — Clear skies and moderate temperatures helped. So did the 34 juried artists who displayed their wares along the paths of Oakwood Park Saturday, May 28.
Whatever the cause, the eighth annual Chautauqua-Wawasee Fine Arts Festival garnered a satisfying attendance, according to Chautauqua Treasurer Mary Moretto, who was in charge of organizing the festival.
In fact, she said, “We started right at 9 a.m. with a good crowd.”
Artwork took the various forms of paintings, gourds, silverware, bowls, plates, jewelry, paddles, stained glass, clocks and pebbles, and artists came in from Florida, Michigan, Indianapolis, South Bend and the Syracuse area.
Other activities included live music, a kids art project, face painting and balloon animals.
Deena DuFour operated the kids art project, which included making paper plate suncatchers and blow paintings. This was her first year at the festival, but she has for two years done social media marketing for Chautauqua, working out of Fort Wayne.
Brew City, Papaw’s Italian Ice and Tacos El Portal provided sustenance for attendees and RE/MAX Partners handed out bags of popcorn for snacking.
“We have quite a few new artists and some returning artists,” said Moretto, who estimated a 50-50 split between the two groups.
Here are some sights from the festival. Photos by Ray Balogh.
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- Garry Jones added an appropriate ambiance to the day’s events by singing “easy ’70s and ’80s” music. This was the Churubusco native’s first appearance at the festival.
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- Aria Craven, 10, left, receives an artistic dab from face painter Melanie Miller, 15. Aria is the daughter of Adam and Maggie Craven of Fremont, and Melanie is the daughter of Leonard and Beth Miller of Milford.
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- Sisters Isla, 2, and Esme Davis, 4, show off their balloon unicorns at the Fine Arts Fair at Oakwood. They are the daughters of Taylor and Laura Davis of Fort Wayne.
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- Mannette Swaidner staffs the family’s gourd art tent for Mckenzie’s Three Strong Women gourd art, the family-owned business. The multigenerational inventory was created by Swaidner, her late father, her mom, a sister and a niece.
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- The paths of Oakwood Park were busy with browsers and buyers at the eighth annual Chautauqua-Wawasee Fine Arts Festival.
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- Lynn Kee of White Pigeon, Mich., holds up one of her pebble art creations. She has set up shop at the arts festival for three years. Her pebble art themes include religious scenes, grandparents, families, dogs, cats, giraffes and nautical scenes. She finds the pebbles on beaches and shores, but said she “doesn’t see them as pebbles anymore.”
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- Brad Quinn, left, purchases a couple paddles from Richard Barnhart, artist and owner of Paw Paw Paddle Works in Paw Paw, Mich. On the right is Quinn’s friend Joe Cooper. “He brought me along to carry the paddles,” he quipped.
