Newton, NC – The Downtown Newton Development Association and Hickory Museum of Art are again collaborating to bring you a day of fun at the Foothills Folk Art Festival. Join us on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the fourth annual festival in Downtown Newton.
The free, family friendly festival is expected to draw thousands of visitors from throughout the region and will showcase a variety of local and regional contemporary folk artists whose work will be for sale, as well as artist demos, hands-on art activities for kids, live music, food from area restaurants and food truck vendors, a beer garden, and more.
The result of a continuing partnership between Hickory Museum of Art and Downtown Newton Development Association, the mission of the award-winning festival is to celebrate and support contemporary folk art locally and regionally, while maximizing the benefits for the artists and to Downtown Newton both economically and culturally. The festival has been named the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Best Downtown Special Event and the Hickory Daily Record’s Festival of the Year for Catawba County.
The festival will feature a juried selection of artists from around the Carolinas and other southeastern states. The artists work in a wide range of materials, including wood, clay, metals, textiles, beads, paper, and paints, often in mixed-media combinations or in repurposed recycling. The art available will include pottery mugs, bowls, and decorative pieces, jewelry, bird houses, sculptures, photographs, and paintings on wood, canvas or metal in a variety of styles.
Throughout the day there will also be an art activity for children running in parallel on the courthouse lawn, under the guidance of the HMA Education Department.
There will be a variety of music showcasing musical styles such as bluegrass, steel drum, Americana, rock, jam, blues and pop. The musical groups will include The Sigmon Stringers, Pan Jive, Moose and Friends, and Camryn Wilson. Following the festival, The Night Move Band will perform at the Frank & Sue Jones Amphitheatre on Main Avenue across from the Courthouse Square from 4-7 p.m.
When you get hungry, there will be food trucks scattered throughout the festival. There will also be a beer garden for anyone over 21, along with non-alcoholic beverages available throughout the festival.
In conjunction with the Foothills Folk Art Festival, woodworker and folk artist LaVon Van Williams as the Folk Artist in the Schools will spend a day each at three local schools and engage students in an artmaking demonstration where he will discuss his creative process and his experience as an African American artist. Students and their families will also be invited to visit the festival for an immersive folk art experience. The Folk Artist in the Schools events are made possible thanks to the sponsorship of Corporate Armor – a TempranoTechvestors company.
In addition to presenting sponsor Catawba Valley Community College, the festival is deeply grateful to the sponsors whose support makes the festival possible. Producing Sponsors include Adult Life Programs, Corporate Armor – a Temprano Techvestors company, United Arts Council of Catawba County, and the City of Newton. Supporting Sponsors include Catawba Valley Health System and Robert Abbey Fine Lighting. Festival Donors include Alex Lee, Cargo Transporters, Commscope, HealthSmart Pharmacy, Hickory Metro Convention Center and Visitors Bureau, Peoples Bank, and Steve White Motors. Visit www.foothillsfolkartfestival.com for more information.
