The Art and Artisan Festival, put on by the Bedford Historical Society, brings artists together, as well as live entertainment, food vendors and more.
2023 DATE: September 9-10, 2023
Location: Bedford Commons
730 Broadway Ave
Bedford, OH 44146
Website: https://bedfordoh.gov
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In 2021, the festival changed names to the Art and Artisan Festival.
This post documents my experience on September 14, 2013, when it was called Weekend of the Pooka.
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In Irish folklore, the Pooka (púca) is a shape-shifter that can turn into a goat, a rabbit and, often times, a ghostly black horse with horns.
But at Bedford’s Weekend of the Pooka…
…the creature took on a rather different form…
…as an artistic gnome…
…with an apparent appreciation for cleanliness.
Here at Imagination Village…
…the pooka celebration turned Bedford Commons into a magical place…
…where kids could take part in origami (Michael Roy)…
…hat making…
…pottery…
…jubal drum playing…
…face painting…
…and various other artistic activities stationed around the grounds.
And as kids were making art, adults were purchasing it from local artists…
…found mostly here in these two large tents…
…where they were lined up along the walls…
…for art lovers to more easily admire their remarkable work (Kevin White).
A book tent was set up for the literary festival goers…
…where they could look through many local reading selections from the Learned Owl…
…chat with local authors, such as S. Andrew Swann…
…and discuss Woollybears with local Cleveland legend Dick Goddard.
For everyone else…
…there was some festival gambling in the form of a raffle…
…musical entertainment set up in the gazebo…
…and food options that included Mexican street food, sushi…
…cupcakes…
…an entire food/wine tasting (with admission)…
…and plenty of free gluten free dessert samples from a business down the street (Mrs. P’s).