Art will be filling the sidewalks of Park Avenue this weekend.
The 65th Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival kicks off Friday, March 15th.
Award Winning Competition
The Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival has been a springtime tradition since 1960.
Alice Moulton, Historian and PR chair for the Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival, said the festival draws in more than 250,000 people over the three day weekend.
“It's one of Central Florida's biggest outdoor events. We are nationally known as one of the top art festivals in the country.”
Out of the more than one thousand artists who applied to be a part of this year’s festival, Moulton said 219 fine artists will be featured.
“(The three judges) view all of the applications and individually, they score each one of the artists. From those scores we pick. We go by the top scores in each of the different categories of art.”
Artists will compete for 64 awards totaling $76,500, with the highest prize going to ‘Best of Show’ at $12,000.
Moulton said each judge has a different criteria for award winning work at the festival, but, “the awards usually are not given for something that you would say, ‘boy that would look good over my sofa.’ They primarily look for technique, uniqueness, and creativity.”
Of the 219 artists that will be featured at the festival this year, three are emerging artists.
“They might be artists that are very young, just starting out in the art industry, or a lot of times we have emerging artists that apply that have had a regular job doing something but they love art, and it's their passion. And now they're ready to explore whether they could actually be marketable as an artist.”
The Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival picks three emerging artists each year to display the art at no charge.
Central Florida Arts
Florida is a big haven for artists, according to Moulton.
“The beauty of the state itself is very inspiring to a lot of artists. There are tons of art festivals in Florida, and it just shows the appreciation that the population has for the art. So I think that artists are drawn to come to this area.”
Moulton said artists of all different mediums can be found in the Sunshine State.
“You might think of certain regions where pottery is very big, or photography is very big or painting, we see a little bit of everything.”
What to expect
The Festival runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, March 15 through Sunday, March 17 along Park Avenue in Winter Park.
Parking is available, but Moulton said it won’t be easy.
“There are quite a few businesses and churches that will open up their parking lots in the area. There are several large parking garages around the edges of Winter Park that you can park in. So don't be discouraged. There is plenty of room to park if you are patient and look for it.”
Once you have parked and are headed into the festival, Moulton said there’s plenty to do beside buying original artworks.
From easel painting for kids to the return of the Friday night concert, Moulton said this is an event for the whole family.
“The crowd is not allowed to put their blankets down until two o'clock in the afternoon on Friday. Some people used to put them out the night before, but we're not doing that anymore. And the blankets can't be bigger than 10 by 10. But you can bring your favorite food and drink and just relax and enjoy the show.”
For more information on the event, visit wpsaf.org.
