“I’ve been going to the art fair as long as I can remember,” Beard said. “I like seeing the folks that I wouldn’t necessarily run into around town, (and) that’s always a lot of fun.”

The 49th annual East Lansing Art Festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in the streets of downtown East Lansing.

The festival will showcase the work of about 200 artists — both returning and emerging — from throughout the country. Featured artwork will include paintings, pottery, jewelry and mixed-media pieces. There also will be various other activities taking place throughout the weekend, including face painting, magic shows and musical performances.

“I think there’s something for everyone,” said Corinn VanWyck, the festival’s arts program coordinator. “We draw a large range of age groups and diverse backgrounds to the event.”

For Central Michigan University alumna Lisa D’Angelo, this weekend’s event will be the first time her work ever has been featured in an art festival.

“I’ve never had an opportunity to sell my artwork like this,” she said. “I’m very excited. Just for someone else to appreciate your art, it feels really good.”

D’Angelo plans to showcase several small acrylic paintings portraying realistic looking flowers, fruits and vegetables. She said her works typically focus heavily on texture and make use of bright, fun colors.

“It’s something different,” D’Angelo said. “I don’t usually see these at art fairs.”

Advertising senior Kathryn Walker, who attended last summer’s art festival and plans to make an appearance at this year’s, said she enjoyed walking throughout downtown and viewing the various art exhibits and crafted items.

“I thought it was really cool, (and) it was interesting to see,” she said. “It was something that was fun to do around East Lansing.”

Walker said what she enjoys most about the East Lansing Art Festival is how it brings all of the city’s residents together.

D’Angelo said she hopes to use this weekend as an opportunity to connect with other artists at the festival and see if events such as this one might have a place in her future.

“I’ve never really thought about being an art fair artist before this,” she said. “I think this will be a good chance to expose myself and see if I’d actually like to continue on with this.”