Paradise City Arts Festival returns for 31st year later this month

A scene from last year’s Paradise City Arts Festival.
Photo credit: Paradise City Arts/ Lynne Graves Photography

NORTHAMPTON — The nation’s premier destination for lovers of the handmade and high-end is once again gracing the region over Memorial Day weekend.

Paradise City Arts Festival will return to the Three County Fairgrounds at the end of this month for another three-day stretch that celebrates creativity in multiple facets.

The festival, which runs from May 23-25, will feature 200-plus world-class artists and makers traveling from every corner of the country to showcase their craft. The premier showcase features contemporary craft and fine art, including handmade home décor, sculpture, fashion, jewelry and more.

“Jeff and Linda Post originally founded the show in 1995, and we have been going in Northampton as well as across New England, Pennsylvania, Florida. They launched shows all over the east coast,” Show Director Mariah Swanson told Reminder Publishing. “What was so innovative about this particular kind of art fair is it put fine craft on the same pedestal that fine art was being viewed from at that point, so it’s taking the best of the best from around the country across all these different kinds of mediums. It’s fine art and photography, but it’s also ceramics, it’s mixed media, it’s sculpture, it’s wearables, it’s jewelry, and this is an opportunity to see 200 artists who are just the best at what they do at this premium kind of quality. You get to meet the artists and hear their stories, learn about their process, and just be face-to-face, which is becoming just as important as it ever was, especially in this digital era, so it’s really celebrating the craft of the human hand.”

Swanson said that this year feels particularly electric because there are more new faces. The weekend show is designed to be a full-scale cultural affair, and whether you are a serious collector or a family looking for a memorable afternoon, there is a rhythm to the weekend that invites everyone to stay and play.

“We’re in this really kind of unique position, similar to how music has been so successful in Northampton, where we seem to be in this smaller community in Western Massachusetts but it’s able to attract people from New York, from Boston, an incredible amount of very high cultural intellectuals who want to be able to collect and build on their collections but aren’t necessarily going to be in one of these large economic hubs,” added Swanson. “It’s just a really beautiful, quaint opportunity to be in this area of the Pioneer Valley and also have exposure to these beautiful hotels, music venues, great restaurants, and where you can make a whole weekend out of it. But it’s really this great destination you can come to for the arts.”

The sensory experience doesn’t just stop at the easel, as nearly a dozen local restaurants and food trucks will be on-site, and the entire festival weekend will feature jazz, blues and folk music from the region’s best bands. On opening night, the festival will feature a headline performance by the indie-pop luminaries Winterpills.

The festival is open each day at 10 a.m. and closes on Saturday at 9 p.m., Sunday at 5 p.m. and Monday at 4 p.m. On Saturday, artists and makers close at 6 p.m., and then the concert begins. Local food and the beer garden will remain open until 8 p.m.

Tickets are $14 in advance, $16 at the gate, and those who are 15 and under can enter for free. Advance tickets can be purchased at festivals.paradisecityarts.com/shows/northampton-may-show.

New to this year’s festival weekend is the debut of the Emerging Artist Collective, a brand-new initiative dedicated to fostering the next generation of talent. The collective will allow up to three emerging artists to share a booth and gain exposure during the weekend.

“It’ll be three artists per space and that’s been juried and curated at the same level, and it’s an opportunity to get their foot in the door, get in front of the Paradise City Arts audience and cultivate their career, and also an opportunity for the public to be able to see these incredible emerging artists and get some new faces,” added Swanson.

Attendees are also encouraged to catch the live demonstrations during the weekend like Art in Action, where audiences can watch raw materials transform into masterpieces across multiple mediums. Additionally, attendees can participate in a creative activity called Crafting with Color, which is designed for the whole family.

The Silent Art Auction is also returning this year to again benefit the International Language Institute of Massachusetts. This organization provides free English classes for immigrants and refugees from around the world as they build new lives for themselves and their families.

An array of donations by Paradise City Arts exhibitors will be available for open bidding each day at the Silent Auction tables, with 100% of proceeds directly supporting International Language Institute of Massachusetts programming.

“Their work is more important than ever right now and really directly impacts anyone who’s relocating to the area trying to grow their life and offer language classes,” Swanson said.

Swanson shared that the event is beloved in the community because of the showcase and the communal support for the festival. She said that this festival embodies the passions of each artist and oftentimes serves as their livelihood.

“We want to make it feel welcoming and diverse so that they [artists] feel supported because there’s an incredible amount of talent out there, but they don’t always feel like they have access to these kinds of platforms, and it’s very, very different than selling online,” added Swanson. “We have lots of great new ways of exposing their work and meeting buyers through social media and online, but nothing beats face-to-face because it allows them to get in-the-moment feedback on their work. It’s really valuable in terms of how they continue to choose to make their work and grow their career.”