If you get a chance to be near the Florida Panhandle in early November, plan to visit the Greater Gulf Coast Arts Festival. It is consistently ranked among the best fine arts and fine crafts shows and is definitely worth a visit!
Over 200 artists in a wide variety of styles and mediums compete at the Festival each year. Categories include photography, mixed media, sculpture, wood/leather/fiber, glass, watercolor, ceramics, and many others and range from the realistic and relaxed paintings of life on a lazy bayou to screaming bright-colored contemporary pieces that ... well, some of them we aren't sure WHAT they are but ... they are art!
Our favorite artist at this year's festival was Philip Singer, whose paintings are whimsical, clever, appealing, and most of them have a message. It was a lot of fun studying each painting and trying to discover the "reason" behind it without reading the information first.
If crafts are more your interest than arts, you won't be disappointed. The Heritage Arts area includes a number of skilled artisans demonstrating their crafts in blacksmithing, basketweaving, spinning, knitting, weaving, tatting, woodturning, dulcimer-making, and dozens of others. The craftsmen are happy to discuss their work with visitors and interested persons can often find a network to connect to in their chosen pursuit.
Because it IS a festival, there is also entertainment (on 3 stages at once, all day long!), lots of food of all kinds, treats, and more. There is also an area set aside for children where they can enjoy hands-on crafting with origami, string art, sand art, clay sculpting, fish prints, and much more. This is a great way to get your children interested in crafting with you, and let them try a variety of things all at once, with everything all prepared and no clean-up or cost to you!
If you missed this year's festival, plan for next year's. The Greater Gulf Coast Arts Festival is held each year in early November in Pensacola, Florida. See you there!
Over 200 artists in a wide variety of styles and mediums compete at the Festival each year. Categories include photography, mixed media, sculpture, wood/leather/fiber, glass, watercolor, ceramics, and many others and range from the realistic and relaxed paintings of life on a lazy bayou to screaming bright-colored contemporary pieces that ... well, some of them we aren't sure WHAT they are but ... they are art!
Our favorite artist at this year's festival was Philip Singer, whose paintings are whimsical, clever, appealing, and most of them have a message. It was a lot of fun studying each painting and trying to discover the "reason" behind it without reading the information first.
If crafts are more your interest than arts, you won't be disappointed. The Heritage Arts area includes a number of skilled artisans demonstrating their crafts in blacksmithing, basketweaving, spinning, knitting, weaving, tatting, woodturning, dulcimer-making, and dozens of others. The craftsmen are happy to discuss their work with visitors and interested persons can often find a network to connect to in their chosen pursuit.Because it IS a festival, there is also entertainment (on 3 stages at once, all day long!), lots of food of all kinds, treats, and more. There is also an area set aside for children where they can enjoy hands-on crafting with origami, string art, sand art, clay sculpting, fish prints, and much more. This is a great way to get your children interested in crafting with you, and let them try a variety of things all at once, with everything all prepared and no clean-up or cost to you!
If you missed this year's festival, plan for next year's. The Greater Gulf Coast Arts Festival is held each year in early November in Pensacola, Florida. See you there!
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