September 2, 2021 Vol. 22, No. 16
In This Issue FOUR SEASONS
Downtown Edmond Arts Festival here Sept. 10-12
Four Seasons, by Kevin Box, in real life is located in front of the Center for Transformative Learning on the UCO campus, but this week is hidden somewhere in our paper. Email contest@edmondpaper.com with the correct location to be entered in the weekly drawing. For more information, see page 4.
Football season starts See Page 15
FRIDAY, September 3 Partly Cloudy High 97° Low 73°
SATURDAY, September 4 Partly Cloudy High 97° Low 71°
SUNDAY, September 5 Partly Cloudy High 96° Low 72°
Since the first Downtown Edmond Arts Festival in 1978, the event has taken place the first weekend of May. Of course, in May 2020 everything was still in lockdown. May 2021 came and went, but Downtown Edmond remained open. Will we have to wait until 2022 for another arts festival? The good news is no, we won’t! “The Arts Festival will return this year on Sept 10-12, before resuming our regular schedule in Spring 2022,” said Michelle Schaefer, one of the new chairs of the Downtown Edmond Arts Festival. Sponsored by the merchants of the Downtown Edmond Business Association, the fall event marks the 43rd annual year for this award winning event. “We attract top talent from across the nation to our show,” said Schaefer. The proceeds help the downtown merchants pay for marketing that showcases the unique businesses in Downtown Edmond. Bryanne Wallace chaired the Arts Festival from 2007 until her last festival in 2019. She devoted many hours working to make it a successful event. Bryanne passed away in April 2021. Schaefer
said “Bryanne made the artists feel at home and valued. That was probably her biggest legacy. We want to honor her memory by making this festival even better.” While you’ll see a lot of your favorite artists and food trucks, there are many new changes the committee hopes you will enjoy. “We revised the artist’s booth layouts to break up the flow of visitors and provide more social distancing”, said Nancy Meoli, the other co-chair for the event. “The changes will also provide more visibility to the businesses along Broadway and create a more leisurely browsing experience with the artists.” There will be 140 artists from 12 states participating, some from as far away as Florida and Wyoming, showcasing their talents in oil, acrylic, watercolor, jewelry, pottery and photography. There will also be a special section on First Street for Artisan crafters, showing their skills in leather, wood, resin, glass, metal and fabric. Be sure and venture down First Street to the Festival Marketplace, where there will be a huge
assortment of fun and games for all ages. The first stop will be a foam pit, where you can have the ultimate foam party! From there you can play on a 16 square foot chess board with 3 foot tall chess pieces, or play a game of giant checkers or Connect 4. There will also be giant stacking blocks, giant dominoes, ring toss and cornhole games. Also in the open marketplace area will be a series of tents with children’s activities. Several businesses will have free “make and take” activities. Be sure and check the schedule to see when your favorite princess and superheroes will be there! Keep going to the covered pavilion where you can sit in the shade and listen to local artists, including Black Water Bridge on Friday night and Kyle Dillingham on Saturday night. Also under the pavilion will be the Greater OKC Pickleball Club, demonstrating this fast growing sport. For more information on the Arts Festival or other downtown Edmond activities, go to www. downtownedmondok.com, or the arts festival Facebook page @ DowntownEdmondArtsFestival.