Art and Apples Festival draws near

ROCHESTER — Families and friends can enjoy a weekend of fun for all ages during Paint Creek Center for the Arts’ annual Art and Apples Festival.

The festival, now in its 58th year, will return to Rochester Municipal Park Sept. 6-8.

“It’s not only a chance to enjoy the community — and one of the last chances before summer officially comes to a close — but it’s also a chance to see really high-quality artists,” said Shaun Hayes, the executive director of the Paint Creek Center for the Arts, which puts on the show. “A lot of artists go from state to state doing shows, but this one has really built up a following as being one of the best fine art shows in the country, so we draw a lot of artists who you wouldn’t normally get to see in Michigan.”

The festival — with Genisys Credit Union as the presenting sponsor — is expected to draw a crowd of around 70,000 attendees over the three-day weekend.

The event serves as the PCCA’s signature fundraiser to support the nonprofit organization’s art classes for kids and adults, free art exhibitions, the Art Market exclusively featuring local Michigan artists’ work, summer camps, and community outreach through its Art Anywhere program.

“Paint Creek Center for the Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and Art and Apples not only serves as an opportunity for everybody in the community to come out to see great artists but also is our largest fundraiser of the year,” Hayes said. “Probably a little over half of our revenue for the year comes from this event.”

A suggested $5 tax-deductible donation per person will be accepted at each entrance to the festival, with a portion of the donations being shared with 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— who greet festival goers as they enter the park.

This year was a record year for artist applications to the juried show, according to Hayes, who said the PCCA received 444 applications, compared to last year’s 367, with 76 first-time applications. This year’s festival will welcome approximately 270 artists from across the nation who will display and sell their work in 16 fine art mediums — including ceramics, digital art, drawing, textiles, glass, printmaking, jewelry, metal, mixed media, painting, photography, sculpture, wood and more.

“It’s the most we’ve had since before the pandemic, as far as the number of artists that we have coming,” Hayes said.

Rochester Hills-based husband and wife artists Kelly Lyons and John Lucassian, of Lucky Bunny Arts, are returning to Arts and Apples 2024 with their small batch and one-of-a-kind ceramics designed to make people smile.

“We love to do our ‘hometown’ show. It’s great to see friends and neighbors — and meet new people in the community,” Lyons said in a statement.

Ceramic artist Carrie Bladecki, of Rochester, is also returning to the festival this year.Over the last three years, Bladecki said, she has fallen in love with the world of pottery and ceramic art, creating fairies, mermaids and other whimsical figurines, along with functional teapots and mugs.

“One day my husband said, ‘You should do a fairy garden’ — because I’ve always loved arts and crafts … so I decided to make him a fairy garden,” she said. “Three classes into my wheel class at the OPC (Older Persons’ Commission), COVID shut everything down, so I had to either quit or do something at home. So I got a wheel, a kiln and another wheel and created a studio in my basement, and that’s where I’ve been working since.”

The Art and Apples Festival will also feature live stage entertainment from community music and dance groups and local musicians; food trucks, tents and restaurant pop-ups; the Meijer Kids Art Zone offering children’s art activities; and the Creation Station featuring live art-making demonstrations, including Ervin Glassworks.

The festival wouldn’t be complete without some delicious apple treats for sale — including old fashioned apples, apple pies, apple cider, apple cider doughnuts, apple strudel, candied apples and more.

Art and Apples will be open 2-7 p.m. Friday, Sept, 6; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7; and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8, in Rochester Municipal Park. For more information, visit www.pccart.org/festival or call the PCCA at (248) 651-4110.