Arts in the Park festival

The annual Arts in the Park festival will return to County Park this weekend and is set to feature 85 arts, crafts and food vendors. This year’s two day event, which begins Saturday at 10 a.m., is set to feature local artists and artists from as far away as New York.

Everything that will be for sale outside of the food has to be at least 50 percent handmade said the Bristlecone Arts Council Chairman Annette Marshall, meaning that each handcrafted piece of art available will be both unique and not available on store shelves.

“It brings a spice into the community,” Marshall said of the requirement.

This year’s Arts in the Park will also host a live musical performance for the first time since its inception in 1984. A musician known as “Charlie K” will begin performing near the food area at 11 a.m. on Saturday, and according to Marshall, he will play for as long as he likes.

“This is our first time having live music at Arts in the Park which is really exciting for us. We were reached out to by Charlie K after he performed at the Elko Arts in the Park and thought it would be a fun addition to the Bristlecone Arts Council’s centerpiece event,” Marshall said.

The Chairman said that all families are welcome to come out and enjoy the food, music and art, but stressed that no animals are allowed. Utah-based water color artist Jill Cook, who is in town to teach at the Children’s Art Festival at the high school, will also have a booth set up selling reproductions of her “simultaneous perspective” artwork. Cook said that she will also be selling signed limited edition prints of her artwork.

“I love working with watercolor because of how light shines through it like stained glass,” Cook said of her art style.

In addition to artwork, Marshall said she thinks Arts in the Park attendees will find something for each member of the family to enjoy.

Whether it be the a bouncy house for the kids (though that is dependent on the weather), to handmade clothes for “everyday women” or unique jewelry made from quarks and paper, Marshall said that this year’s show will offer something unique for everyone.

This year’s show will also be the first to take place in the County Park since the County remodeled it, adding gazebos and public restrooms. Marshall said that during the planning phase for the park’s upgrades, county officials reached out to her to see how the additions would work, or not work, with the park’s biggest event each year.

“The county was really helpful and cooperative with helping the arts council plan the event and close the road between the park and the courthouse. They even asked for my input when hey were adding the gazebos to see what would work with Arts in the Park, and we worked together to make sure the new features would fit with the plan for our event,” she said.

The Bristlecone Arts Council will have their own booth located under the gazebo located at the north-east end of the park. Marshall encouraged those interested in joining the council to come by and fin out more information bout their organization.

“What I’m not sure people know is that we are all unpaid volunteers and we are always looking for more volunteers to help plan these kinds of events in the community,” Marshall said.

Arts in the Park will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m on Sunday.