Art on Main brings organic vibe to downtown Brigham City

Art on Main brings organic vibe to downtown Brigham City

Ready for a weekend of art and shopping in an idyllic small-town setting?

The fourth annual Art on Main event takes place this week, bringing art and artists, merchandise and merchants to downtown Brigham City.

The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 24-25, along a three-block section of the city’s historic Main Street. Admission is free.

“You can’t miss it,” David Walker said of the Art on Main location. “Just drive up (U.S.) 89 and stop at the arch.”

The arch, of course, being the “Welcome to Brigham” sign that spans the roadway in the heart of the city.

Now in its fourth year, Art on Main is enjoying a steady growth, according to Walker, who, with his wife, Donna, is a volunteer director of the event.

“It gets a little better each year,” he said. “We’ve expanded this year to include more local, organic art of all kinds.”

Walker said he and his wife patterned Brigham’s Art on Main after the St. George Art Festival in Southern Utah, of which he and his wife are great fans.

“We’re trying to create a nice event that includes local art organizations and has a real high-quality feel to it,” Walker said. “Our tagline for our art show is ‘The Region’s Best Fine Artists … The Region’s Best Fine Art Venue.’”

The centerpiece of the two-day event is the Academy Center Art Show and Sale, taking place in the Academy Conference Center, 58 N. Main St. More than 130 works of art, representing 42 artists, will be featured in a ballroom where large windows allow for plenty of natural lighting.

An artists’ reception will be held at 7 p.m. Friday; it’s the only ticketed event during the free two-day arts festival and will feature live music and refreshments. Cost is $5.

“It’s an exclusive one-to-one reception with the artists themselves having a chance to meet with serious art buyers,” Walker said.

New at the festival this year will be the Cooley Collective Photography Show, held in the old Cooley Memorial Hospital at 400 South and Main streets.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, a chalk art competition will be held on Main Street. There will also be food trucks, and the merchants downtown will host a sidewalk sale throughout the two days.

The event concludes Saturday evening with a free concert by The Benson Sisters, a trio that recreates the patriotic music of the World War II-era Andrews Sisters. The concert begins at 7 p.m. in Academy Square on Main Street.

“That will kind of lead us into a more serious Memorial Day attitude for Monday,” Walker said.

Walker said there are usually some surprises during the weekend, since the event is very organic. Even as organizers, the Walkers don’t know what the downtown merchants have planned — in terms of face painting or kids’ games, etc. — until that day.

“It’s kind of a fun time downtown, and generally we’re very, very busy that day,” Walker said. “It’s an organic expose of local artists and artisans that we continue to hope will expand. Next year, we’ve got a pottery component lined up for Art on Main — we couldn’t quite pull it off this year.”

For more information, go to www.visitbrighamcity.com/artshow.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Top

Login


Create an Account!
Forgot Password?

Create an Account!


Username
Want to Login?

Forgot Password?