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asked if their favorite musicians
are returning to one of the many stages throughout the
festival. Then there is always the annual film festival at
Whitaker Center. Just visiting Harrisburg seems to be a draw
in itself.....so, we invite you to enjoy all the aspects of
our festival. Feel free to return each and every day of the
41st Annual Patriot-News Artsfest, one of the ”Top 100 Art
Events in the Nation” as rated by Sunshine Artist Magazine.
Your Favorite?.....
The Amazing Art
It is really quite fun putting all the components of Artsfest
together. For many, the artists are their main concern… we
understand people save all year to purchase art for their home
or for that special birthday gift. It is no easy task to
select the artists that bless us with their talents. Here at
the Greater Harrisburg Arts Council, the first thing we have
to do is get the artists to apply for exhibition space. With
the word out about what a great arts festival we have here in
Harrisburg, we were deluged with applications from artists and
craftsmen across the United States. Artist applications are
mailed in October of previous year. In January we hire expert
jurors and they select the accepted artists from the thousands
of slides submitted for entry into the Patriot-News Artsfest.
This year’s jurors were Carrie Wissler-Thomas from the Art
Association of Harrisburg and Shawn Williams from the
Harrisburg Area Community College Art Faculty. The next thing
we have to accomplish is to select the signature art is to
represent the festival. We work with our title sponsor… the
terrific Patriot-News, to pick a piece of art from the
thousands of submitted slides. This year’s logo art is one of
Lyse Anthony’s playful watercolors of a delightful green frog
which will be featured in all of Artsfest’s advertisements,
volunteer tee shirts, billboards, artist postcards and
festival guides.
The Wildly Creative Children’s Area?
The festival not only has one of the best artist markets in
the country but it also includes a delightful children’s
festival at the southern end of the Festival. We are please to
announce the proud sponsor of Kidsfest: BELCO Community Credit
Union. And are they ever excited. Within the block long of
activity there are games, artists, activities and loads of
fun. The Children’s Stage will feature nonstop performances
throughout the day. The Popcorn Hat Players are the hosts for
the weekend and if you have never seen them in action, you are
missing something wonderful….no age requirement here. There’s
a huge children’s activities area that gets the creative
juices flowing… come on, play, laugh, create.
The Fabulous Food?
Even the most serious art critic has admitted they love the
variety of delicious offerings for their dining Artsfest
experience. With over 45 different food booths, most admit it
is hard to decide what to narrow it down to quench that thirst
or fill their tummy! Even our food vendors are hand selected
by food menu, presentation and level of quality. We offer
everything from ethnic Greek gyros, to hot apple dumplings in
two major food courts. Specialty treats are placed throughout
the artist market for that in between snack. Take a risk this
year and try something new- you know you will love it.
The Awesome Film Festival
In its 10th year, the independent film festival is an enormous
success. Held in conjunction with Artsfest hours at the
Undergound at Whitaker Center… Filmfest is awesome. Check out
the extensive lineup in the Festival guide. Todd Shill from
Filmspeak.com and Caleb Smith from Moviate are once again
hosting this annual event, dedicating themselves to the love
of film and are responsible for creating Harrisburg’s own
independent film festival that now has huge national
recognition. Venture over to Whitaker Center at 3rd and Market
Streets, it is quite a jewel, you won’t be sorry.
The Non Stop Free Entertainment
We have it all. From funk to jazz- it’s at this year’s
Artsfest. Check out the extensive schedule. Three major stages
are almost enough to be overwhelming, but if you pace yourself
you can take in a lot in three days. The free musical
entertainment is all run by Artsfest chairs from the
community. We can never thank Steve Krempasky from Whitaker
Center enough for arranging all of the performances that grace
our stages of Artsfest. There are non stop hourly performances
at the Kunkel Plaza Stage at Front and State Streets and The
Walkin’ Bridge Stage between Walnut and Locust Streets under
the shade trees of Riverfront Park. Our third stage is in
BELCO Kidsfest. The Popcorn Hat Players are quite the hosts
the all the free children’s entertainment on the stage within
BELCO Kidsfest. Please join Wednesday Club for recitals at the
Art Association of Harrisburg across the street. Through the
artist market, take a break to listen to your favorite artist
market performers….once again FREE and superb all throughout
the festival site.
Our Breathtaking Location?
What a city! What a beautiful place to see gorgeous art
and hear beautiful music. Riverfront Park is such a wonderful
place for an event of this magnitude. Some of you say you
simply come for the glory of the river. Let us all thank our
amazing Mayor Stephen R. Reed, the Harrisburg Police
Department and dedicated staff at the Harrisburg Parks and
Recreation Department, the board of the Greater Harrisburg
Arts Council and the hundreds of dedicated volunteers who help
us make all of this possible. This partnership is in essence
describing the words teamwork and love of community. For
whatever reason, don’t miss the excitement of Artsfest. We are
proud to bring it to you year after year.
Thank you,
The Board and staff at the Greater Harrisburg Arts Council
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