Newton, NC – The second annual Foothills Folk Art Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7, in Downtown Newton.
The festival is a partnership between the Downtown Newton Development Association and Hickory Museum of Art. Catawba Valley Medical Center is the presenting sponsor.
The family-friendly festival will feature nearly 100 artists from throughout the Southeast and beyond. The festival, which is free and open to the public, will allow visitors to meet the artists and buy directly from them. Artists’ booths will line the streets surrounding the 1924 Courthouse Square, located at 30 North College Ave., Newton.
In addition, there will be art activities for children, art demonstrations, two beer gardens, and live musical entertainment. Food will be for sale by several food trucks: The Big Woodie, Hangry Hooligans, Two Chicks and a Truck, EmergenSweets, Wingz on Wheels, McDermott’s Irish Pub, and Eats on the Streets. Festival guests may also eat at several downtown establishments, including Callahan’s Café, The Corner Table, Geppeto’s Pizza, Blue Moon Tavern, Marie & Twannette’s, and H&W Drug Co.
Free parking will be available at the Catawba County Government Complex at 100 Government Drive, Newton, with shuttle buses taking guests to the festival area. Streets in the festival area will be closed to traffic throughout the day. Handicapped parking in the downtown area will be available on West A Street beside the Old Post Office Playhouse, and in the parking lot next to BB&T that can be accessed from North or South Ashe Avenue.
Some of the popular artists from the festival’s first year will be returning, along with many new additions. A few of the outstanding artists planning to attend the festival this year include: LaVon Van Williams, Jr., of Kentucky; the Rev. Johnnie Simmons (Gullah Woodburning Art) of Beaufort, S.C.; Craig Carey of Ohio; Sam Granger of Hollywood, Ga.; Charlie Frye of Lenoir; Wanda Clark of Statesville; Turtle Island Pottery (Maggie and Freeman Jones) of Old Fort; Carla B Pottery (Carla Brandel) of Conover; Kathy Richards of Lincolnton; and Nellie Ashford of Mecklenburg County.
Surrounding the event, the Newton-Conover Auditorium will host the Foothills Folk Art Festival Preview Night on Friday, Oct. 6, granting advance access to amazing works by the area’s best folk artists before the festival on Saturday, as well as a 10 percent discount on all purchases. Tickets may be purchased at www.newton-conoverauditorium.org. In addition, Hickory Museum of Art will host the opening reception of the exhibit New Horizons: Self-Taught Art in the 21st Century. The opening event will held Saturday, Oct. 7, from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the museum, located on the SALT Block at 243 Third Ave. NE, Hickory. The exhibit is guest curated by local residents Margaret Day Allen and Robert J. Allen.
Sponsors of the Foothills Folk Art Festival include the United Arts Council of Catawba County through the North Carolina Arts Council, with funding from the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information about the Foothills Folk Art Festival, go to its website at www.foothillsfolkartfestival.com, or visit the festival’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/foothillsfolkartfestival.
Hickory Museum of Art is located on the SALT Block, 243 Third Ave. NE, Hickory. Admission is free. For more information about museum exhibitions, art classes, field trips, and events, visit www.HickoryArt.org or call 828-327-8576.
