by Dennis Dalman
College Avenue in downtown St. Joseph will become a visual and musical spectacle on Sunday, August 25, when the 18th annual Millstream Arts Festival takes place, featuring nearly 50 arts and crafts exhibits, food, and lively music and dance.
The festival takes place whatever the weather and admission is free from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The handicrafts on display in white tents along the avenue include an amazing variety of paintings, woodwork, ceramics, jewelry, textile art, glasswork, leather goods, photography, literature, children’s activities and much more.
Activities for children include hands-on art experiences with the Avon Hills Folk School and the Tiny School of Art and Design, and library activities featuring books by local prose writers and poets.
Outdoor entertainment will be provided by Minneapolis-based jazz singer Leslie Vincent, AJ Spoff (pop, rock and country songs) and the Chico Chavez Orchestra, also from Minneapolis.
Millstream is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the visual and performing arts. Festival attendance is expected to exceed 6,000.
The artists/craftspeople exhibiting at the festival on August 25th include many returning artists as well as many new artists – many of them local, but some from a wider region.
This view of the Split Rock Lighthouse north of Duluth was painted by Teri Schottler, one of many new exhibitors at the upcoming Millstream Arts Festival in downtown St. Joseph. Schottler works primarily with acrylic paint on canvas because she loves the bold colors that can be achieved with acrylics.
This is a view of College Avenue during the Millstream Arts Festival last summer in downtown St. Joseph.
