The streets from M.A.C. Avenue to Abbot Road are set to be filled with paintings, sculptures, jewelry and ceramics created by artists from around the country. The various works will be on sale during the event and could be priced anywhere from $15 earrings to paintings costing thousands of dollars.
Prizes will be awarded to different artists by six jurors on Saturday and several emerging artists will also have a chance to shine in the first showing for their work. East Lansing Art Festival board chairman Andrew Sandstedt said the festival is constantly pushing to raise the caliber of fine art shown throughout the weekend.
“I base success of the festival off success of the artists and the feedback we receive from them,” he said. “It’s always fun coming to the show and seeing the growth of the different artists.”
A stage will be set up just north of City Hall with live music playing throughout the two-day festival. Benjamin Hall, the main stage host, said attendees can expect to hear everything from banjo-plucking bluegrass to psychedelic rock and roll music.
Hall will also be performing Saturday with his band, The Further Adventures of Fat Boy and Jive Turkey.
“This is a great kick-off to the festival season,” he said. “It was voted one of the top 100 festivals in the country. It’s just filled with diverse art and diverse music.”
Children of all ages will be kept entertained with various performances and hands-on activities that allow them to create their own artwork to take home.
A food court featuring local vendors, such as Woody’s Oasis and Swagath Indian Cuisine, will be set up for attendees to visit will browsing through the different booths.
New to the festival this year is the Selfie Scavenger Hunt. Guests ages 13 to 18 can register at the information booth to receive a list of 10 items within the festival grounds. Once they find the items, participants simply need to take a selfie photo on their cellphones as proof to be entered in a drawing for the different prizes.
Festival t-shirts and gift cards are a handful of the prizes up for grabs in the scavenger hunt.
“People are drawn to it because it’s the first big community event after a long winter,” East Lansing Art Festival director Michelle Carlson said. “You might run into friends and neighbors, and the community is very into art here. I think they enjoy having the opportunity to interact with different artists.”
