Elk Grove hosted its fifth annual Festival of the Arts in the Old Town Plaza in Historic Elk Grove on Saturday.
Heath Buckmaster, the marketing director on the Elk Grove Fine Arts Board of Directors, said the annual event happens on the last Saturday of April. He said it allows the community to come together and interact with over 30 vendors in the visual and performing arts field while enjoying food and live music.
“It brings together visual and performing arts organizations that are local to Elk Grove or regional organizations to celebrate the arts,” Buckmaster said.
Buckmaster said the event started because the board of directors wanted to bring the community together to support local artists.
“It was an opportunity for us to create what we felt was a much-needed community event for families and individuals who had an interest in either the visual and performing arts,” Buckmaster said.
The Elk Grove Fine Arts Center originally hosted a gallery for local artists to open their home studios to the public, but Buckmaster said it was difficult not having everything in one spot. He said having a festival like this made it easier for attendees to experience the art in a single location.
The event featured vendors ranging from local and regional organizations to independent artists.
The artists were chosen through a casting call in January, Buckmaster said.
“We are very specific that they have to be in the visual and performing arts world and we do give preference to artists who are actively making and selling work because we want the public to be able to come in and buy a piece of art if they are so inclined,” Buckmaster said.
Citrus Heights artist and owner of Beautifully Bound Permanent Jewelry Ashley Nelson, 45, said that after being laid off from her job six months ago, she decided to finally start her own business.
“I was kind of like, ‘Let me see what I can do for myself,’ and so I finally took the risk because I had always wanted to be my own boss,” Nelson said.
She said permanent jewelry wasn’t always the plan, but seeing her friends wearing the jewelry caught her interest.
Nelson said she is still looking for the right place for her business.
“I am still trying to figure out the business and what the areas that are going to work for me, so I am just kind of going all over the place,” Nelson said. “I am still feeling it all out.”
Cosumnes River College alumna Kayla Wong, 21, was invited to the Laguna Creek High School booth by her former high school ceramics teacher to show off her ceramic and crochet pieces. Wong said she has been creating since her freshman year at LCHS and used her art to start making money.
“It is really fun and you can make so many things,” Wong said. “I kind of just developed it into this business that I have today.”
She said she has been attending events like these for a while and that they are beneficial for young artists.
“This event in general is a good place for students to engage in the community and show off their artwork,” Wong said. “It’s a great opportunity.”
The festival is a great way for the community to see art, buy a piece of art, learn about performing arts in the region and keep art at the forefront of their lives, Buckmaster said.
“The arts are important to us and I think that we never want to see them go away, so having events like this continues to remind the community of the importance of the visual and performing arts,” he added.