Brunswick hosts its Outdoor Arts Festival for the fifth time Saturday, and there will be plenty to enjoy, from traditional visual arts to musical performances and in-progress projects like barn building and dragon tunnel making.
Spin Art's hula-hooping interactive demonstrations and roaming musicians will keep the festival even more lively.
"The Outdoor Arts Festival has grown from 39 artists its first year to 100 artists and artisans this year," said David Nadeau, event co-organizer.
He believes each year the festival attracts higher quality art, presentations, artisans and performers.
"We have a lot of artistic diversity this year," said Nadeau. "And the juried artists are not to be missed."
The festival's musical lineup starts at 10 a.m. with the Cajun sounds of Jimmy Jo & the Jumbol'ayuhs. All-female swing band Swing a Cat will take over at noon, and the bluegrass tunes of Cribstone Bridge will wrap up the afternoon.
In the spirit of artistic diversity, the festival also will include a variety of artisans, such as traditional flute maker Ken Brunsvold of Spiritwind Flutes. His flutes were played at the passing of the flame ceremony during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
The artistry of barn building also will be demonstrated with the framing up of an actual barn.
"From fine arts to photographs and fine crafters, it's a great festival to come to," Nadeau said. "And there are price points all over the place to meet everyone's budget."
Children's activities have been expanded this year. Interactive entertainment will include lotus flower making, balloon twisting and face painting, as well as roaming jugglers and mimes.
Stage performances from Studio 48 will include excerpts from "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," a glee club musical revue and a performance by the Dance Evolution Team.
The afternoon features excerpts from "Harriet the Spy," performed by the Theater Project's Young People's Theater Camp, and a couple of family-friendly sing-alongs.
Nadeau said organizers had both parents and kids in mind when they expanded the children's offerings.
"One parent can do an activity with the kids and the other can explore the artists' booths," he said.
The don't-miss feature for kids, as well as adults, is the dragon tunnel project. All ages are welcome to work with local craft book author Heidi Boyd and her architect husband, Steve, to construct the giant tunnel. The kids will enjoy reaping the benefits of tunnel construction with a crawl through the final results.
If you want to find out more about some of the participating artists, watch Fox 23's "Good Day Maine" this week between 8 and 9 a.m. The show will host an artist or performer from the festival each day.
"Get yourself to Brunswick and get caught up in the whole festival, and you won't be disappointed," Nadeau said.
BRUNSWICK OUTDOOR ARTS FESTIVAL
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20
WHERE: Maine Street, Brunswick
HOW MUCH: Free
FOOD OPTIONS: Area restaurants
PARKING: Around downtown
DON'T MISS: The dragon tunnel
KID-FRIENDLY FACTOR: Great
IN CASE OF BAD WEATHER: Rain or shine
MORE INFO: brunswickdowntown.com/boaf
Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram August 14, 2011.
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