A scene from a previous Paradise City Arts Festival.
Reminder Publishing file photo
NORTHAMPTON — The Paradise City Arts Festival is returning on Memorial Day weekend for another three-day set of New England’s premier showcase of contemporary craft and fine art, featuring handmade home décor, sculpture, fashion, jewelry and more.
Running from Saturday, May 24 to Monday, May 26, the public is invited to the Three County Fairgrounds to see the wide-ranging collection of 200 selectively curated artists and makers visiting Northampton in a showcase of visual arts, eye-popping design, food, music and drink, under the festival dining tent.
“It’s really where art becomes an experience,” said Mariah Swanson, director of Marketing for Paradise City Arts. “It’s really fun juxtaposed between really kind of high-end art, established artists and makers from woodworking, handcrafted jewelry, fashion, fine art, ceramics, home décor, furniture, and the artists and makers are from all over the country. But you’re also in destination Northampton, where we have regional restaurants and food trucks, live music every single day, and we also have hands-on activities that are very family friendly, and you can become immersed and learn from these techniques.”
The weekend also features demonstrations and workshops, special exhibits, the Sculpture Promenade and an exciting benefit Silent Art Auction. Each day will open at 10 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. on Saturday, 5 p.m. on Sunday and 4 p.m. on Monday. Tickets are $14 online or $16 at the door, and student tickets, with the inclusion of a student ID, are $8. Children 12 and under are free and no dogs are allowed.
Tickets are available online at festivals.paradisecityarts.com or Eventbrite.com.
“It’s a very immersive, creative experience that people get for those three days,” said Swanson.
The festival has become known for its diverse and lively atmosphere, offering a weekend of live music, local eats and a calendar of activities for people of all ages to enjoy. This year’s special exhibit “Feathers and Fur” will explore how artists derive inspiration from the Animal Kingdom.
“It’s really the premiere show of this level of art and craft across New England. We’re very lucky that our founders are from Northampton and that’s just where they happened to get started and the community has embraced it. But we have people coming from all across the Northeast,” said Swanson. “From New York, Boston, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, we have a long standing loyal audience that continue to come. But what we’ve really been seeing and are excited about is how a new generation of audience is embracing it. Theres a real return to the hand-crafted elements and just kind of wanting to connect with people in person and it just feels like the community continues to want to seek out these kinds of skills.”
One headliner for the weekend will be artist Marlene Rye, who will be doing a live demo over the course of the weekend. “Crafting with Color” and “Play with Clay” are both family friendly options fun for all ages and will be taking place over the weekend in Building’s 1 and 3, respectively.
Swanson noted other guests will include locals Monsoon Roastery and Journey’s Lemonade, and adult beverages will be available for those looking to sip and shop.
The 12,000-square-foot Festival Dining Tent will also be the hub for a fresh music lineup each day and a variety of dining options from Northampton’s restaurant and food truck scene. More details on the weekend schedule and performances can be found at festivals.paradisecityarts.com.
The silent art auction this year will benefit the International Language Institute of Massachusetts. This organization provides free English classes for new arrivals from all over the world so they can successfully integrate into the local community.
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 the International Language Institute of Massachusetts.
The weekend is jam packed and ready to roll on for another celebration of Paradise City and its arts.
“Northampton is just a really wonderful artistic community to come and support. It’s really accessible from the Berkshires to Boston,” said Swanson. “We just want to encourage people to come out one of the three days or all weekend long, we would love to have everyone.”
