Reprinted with permission from artalicous.org
Artalicious Fine Arts Fair 2019, downtown Adrian’s annual juried fine arts fair, took place Friday, Sept. 20 and Saturday, Sept. 21. This two day event featured over 70 talented exhibitors. Attendees enjoyed the vast array of art by both browsing and/or purchasing beautiful works: paintings, photography, sculptures, jewelry and more. Many of the artists demonstrated their craft right on the street as well.
This family friendly fine arts fair offered hands-on activities for all ages. Local non-profits offered many hands-on art projects for kids to have an unparalleled art experience. All the projects were free. My Adventure Theater engaged the audience on Saturday with interactive shows. Various art projects for adults were also available: Paint Chip Art, Alcohol Paint Tile Coasters, Sun Catcher, and so on.
Live music and entertainment took place sprinkled among the artist tents in smaller street performance spaces. As visitors strolled they enjoyed entertainment, such as: Guiness Book of World Records setter, Erik the Juggler, acapella singers, acoustic groups and more. On Saturday, the North Main Street Stage featured local groups and acts, which included a poetry slam, local student musical groups, story yoga, and a jazz group to mention a few. This intertwining of art and entertainment made for an all-around, pleasurable, aesthetic experience.
The popular Food-D-Licious Tent: Palette Pleasers fundraiser took place Friday evening. This fundraiser allowed visitors to purchase tickets to sample culinary styles from the community, courtesy of area restaurants. There was food to delight every culinary palate.
Other special events were planned for both days of the fair. Visitors took part in the Not Just for the Birds! Auction fundraiser hosted at the Adrian District Library. This silent auction featured birdhouses donated by artists and individuals to raise funds for the fair and youth art programs. Several joined in the Historic Building Tour on Saturday led by Kara Lennard of the Lenawee County Historical Museum. The walking tour highlighted historic buildings in the Downtown Adrian area. The tour focused on what the buildings looked like and were used for in the 1880s. Other special exhibits were planned for the weekend.
A community partnership between Artalicious and the Adrian Armory Events Center, located half a block west from the West Maumee Street portion of the fair, hosted well-known entertainers on Friday at 8:30 p.m. and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. These concerts, sponsored by Artalicious, were free to the public. Friday night’s concert brought back the crowd-pleasing band Los Hermanos Villegas, a Tejano Band, which fuses the musical stylings of folk and popular music originating among Mexican-Americans of South Texas. Saturday’s performance showcased Pickin’ Roots entertaining with their classic country music. To open the evening, Matthew Wetmore performed a Johnny Cash Tribute.
Artalicious is a great family friendly, community event. For more information on this fine arts fair, visit artalicious.org.
