An artist works on a painting at his booth during a recent Art and Apples Festival.
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ROCHESTER – Families and friends can enjoy a weekend of fun for all ages at the Paint Creek Center for the Arts’ annual Art and Apples Festival.
This year, the festival is in its 58th year and returns to Rochester Municipal Park from September 6-8.
“Not only is it an opportunity to enjoy the community – and one of the last opportunities before summer officially ends – but it’s also an opportunity to see really high-caliber artists,” said Shaun Hayes, executive director of Paint Creek Center for the Arts, which hosts the show. “Many artists move from state to state to do shows, but this one has built a reputation as one of the best art shows in the country, so we’re attracting a lot of artists you don’t normally get to see in Michigan.”
The festival – with Genisys Credit Union as main sponsor – is expected to attract around 70,000 visitors over the three-day weekend.
The event is PCCA’s premier fundraiser to support the nonprofit’s art classes for children and adults, free art exhibits, the art market showcasing work exclusively by local Michigan artists, summer camps and community work through the Art Anywhere program.
“Paint Creek Center for the Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and Art and Apples is not only an opportunity for everyone in the community to see great artists, but it’s also our biggest fundraiser of the year,” Hayes said. “Probably a little over half of our revenue for the year comes from this event.”
A tax-deductible donation of $5 per person will be accepted at each festival entrance, with a portion of the donations going to the other nonprofits and community groups – including Pawsitive Changes Therapy Dogs, Rochester Community Concert Band, Sparkle Network, Rochester Area Youth Assistance and Disaster Relief at Work – that greet festival-goers as they enter the park.
According to Hayes, this year was a record year for the number of artist applications for the juried exhibition. He said the PCCA received 444 applications, compared to 367 last year, including 76 first-time applicants. This year’s festival will welcome about 270 artists from across the country who will exhibit and sell their work in 16 art mediums – including ceramics, digital art, drawing, textiles, glass, printmaking, jewelry, metal, mixed media, painting, photography, sculpture, wood and more.
“In terms of the number of artists coming to us, this is the highest number we’ve had since before the pandemic,” Hayes said.
Rochester Hills-based artist couple Kelly Lyons and John Lucassian of Lucky Bunny Arts are returning to Arts and Apples 2024 with their small-batch, one-of-a-kind ceramics designed to make people smile.
“We love doing our ‘hometown’ show. It’s great to see friends and neighbors – and meet new people from the community,” Lyons said in a statement.
Rochester-based ceramic artist Carrie Bladecki is also participating in the festival again this year. Over the past three years, Bladecki says, she has fallen in love with the world of pottery and ceramic art, creating fairies, mermaids and other whimsical figures in addition to functional teapots and mugs.
“One day my husband said, ‘You should make a fairy garden’ – because I’ve always loved arts and crafts… so I decided to make him a fairy garden,” she said. “After three lessons in my pottery class at the OPC (Older Persons’ Commission), everything had to shut down because of COVID, so I either had to stop or do something at home. So I got a pottery wheel, a kiln and another pottery wheel and set up a studio in my basement and that’s where I’ve been working ever since.”
The Art and Apples Festival also features live stage entertainment from community music and dance groups and local musicians, food trucks, tents and pop-up restaurants, the Meijer Kids Art Zone with art activities for children, and the Creation Station with live art-making demonstrations including from Ervin Glassworks.
The festival wouldn’t be complete without some delicious apple treats for sale – including old-fashioned apples, apple pie, apple cider, apple cider donuts, apple strudel, candied apples and more.
Art and Apples is open at Rochester Municipal Park on Friday, September 6, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, September 7, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, September 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.pccart.org/festival or call the PCCA at (248) 651-4110.
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