2023 DATE: August 5, 2023
This post documents my experience on August 4, 2012.
The Lakewood Arts Festival is a one-day festival where the city closes a 6 block stretch of Detroit Avenue right in the downtown area.
Celebrating its 35th year, the festival offered 160 artists of various media that included…
…blown glass (Todd Anderson)…
…ceramics (Steve Smith)…
…fiber (Barbara Robertson)…
…baskets (Jack Clutter)…
…stone (Doris Marcus)…
…and terra cotta sculpture (Ezra Giterman).
And, if that alone doesn’t entice you, keep in mind that they also had…
…wind chimes (Scott Bowman)…
…photography (Subtle Verse)…
…silhouette cutouts (Igor Nasibyan)…
…hand-painted shower curtains (B. Mclane)…
…batik apparel (Batik Creations)…
…lil’ tyke apparel (Lil’ Burritos)…
…colorful critters and plates (Cameron Tucker)…
…and some fascinating Pez dispenser portraits (Richard Cihlar).
Elsewhere along Detroit Avenue, festival goers could easily be led astray, thanks to various distractions like…
…an appealing farmers market…
…(equipped with food truck)…
…a kids club activity booth (West Shore Church)…
…one of the Einstein brothers…
…and entertainment either found on stage…
…along the sidewalk (Lobo Marino)…
…or on a park bench.
But one characteristic I should point out at this festival was the strong presence of community organizations, some of which included…
…the Lakewood Historical Society…
…the Beck Center for the Arts…
…and the Lakewood Animal Shelter.
Many of these organizations offered information, often with merchandise for sale.
But others…
…offered free water (Lakewood Presbyterian Church)…
…sold Latvian food (United Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church)…
…promoted the work of artists with developmental disabilities (HeARTworks)…
…and even advertised upcoming festivals (New Life Church)…
…all of which made me a happy kid (Subtle Verse).