46th Year of the Lynchburg Art Festival

The occurrence of Hurricane Florence just ahead of the Lynchburg Art Festival worried almost everyone. But fortunately the event went off smoothly without a hitch on Sunday, September 30, 2018 on the grounds of E. C. Glass High School. As per David Eakin, around 500 and 800 guests attended the event by midday.

There were a large number of artists also who had attended the event. It’s so far the biggest show that has been organised. All the 150 available spaces were rented this year. Most of them were rented by the artists based out in Virginia. Tables, small tents, sections of fencing around the outfield of the smaller of E.C. Glass’s two baseball diamonds made up the spaces where artists displayed their work. One of the watercolour painter, who had made a trip to the festival from Wintersville, Ohio stated that this place is the best possible place for the organisation of this festival. It’s extremely pretty and has wonderful weather as well. The paintings pre dominated the entire show. Alongside, photo prints, a variety of sculptures and few other crafts were also on the display. The artists were sitting in folding chairs and introducing their work to whosoever stopped and smiled at them. One of the visitors Nancy Manley stated that all the artists become extremely delightful and obliged when the visitors stop to check out their work. Her husband stated that they had been attending this festival ever since it started back in 1972. The artists in this festival could also make money through awards. Diego Sanchez, a Richmond-based artist from Bogota, Colombia, acted as a judge who awarded prizes that ranged from $100 to $1,000. Rosalie Day White of Lynchburg awarded small cash prizes for an art showcase featuring works of high school students from E.C. Glass, Virginia Episcopal School and New Covenant Schools.  Lynchburg Art Club President Kathleen Busch mentioned that a portion of the proceeds for artists’ entry fees will go towards the Shirley D. Hobbs Scholarship Fund. This fund is used to award $4,000 each year to a Lynchburg area high school senior going to college for art.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/lynchburg-art-festival-marks-th-year/article_eb9ff62a-8b65-5889-815e-1b8fde6615fd.html