Jeffrey Cannon, Drawing and Graphic Arts, 2012 Best of Show.
August 2-4, 2013
Downtown Crested Butte, CO
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For 40 years, the first weekend of August has been a celebration of the arts in Crested Butte. Today the Crested Butte Arts Festival is a far cry from its humble beginnings in the early 1970s, when about 20 local artists set up booths and invited residents to take a look. These days the festival hosts around 175 juried visual artists, as well as performing and culinary artists. Exhibitor booths offer everything from paintings and sculpture to jewelry, photography, glasswork, metalwork, woodwork, fiber arts, and wearable arts. With the exception of two ticketed events, the festival is completely free and open to the public.
Entrance sculpture from the 2012 Crested Butte Arts Festival.
This year the festival officially opens on Friday, August 2, at 5 p.m. Artists’ booths open at 5 p.m. on Friday and stay open until sunset with live music and easy access to Crested Butte’s eclectic downtown dining options. The festival continues on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with live music and entertainment, as well as art and culinary demonstrations, throughout the day. Local bands, entertainers, and chefs are joined by visiting talents including the Nina Storey Band and executive chef Jason Rogers of Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids and Solids in Longmont, CO. A children’s activity tent provides a place for children and their caregivers to rest a bit and create their own artworks—all free of charge.
A silent auction of artworks donated by participating artists is on display throughout the weekend, with bidding closing on Sunday afternoon. Proceeds from the auction and the festival benefit art education and outreach in the Gunnison Valley. “The best part of the Crested Butte Arts Festival is how it brings together the local community and the tourists, in a block-party feel, around the arts,” says festival executive director Jenny Thomes. “It gives people the chance to interact with the artists and to see them do their work. That’s what makes an arts festival unique.” —Laura Rintala
contact information
970.349.1184
www.crestedbutteartsfestival.com
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- Entrance sculpture from the 2012 Crested Butte Arts Festival.
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- Jeffrey Cannon, Drawing and Graphic Arts, 2012 Best of Show.
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