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| SANTA ROSA ARTS AND CULTURE FOUNDATION, INC. ~ 5188 ESCAMBIA STREET, MILTON, FL 32570 ~ 850-981-1100 |
| Riverwalk ARTS Festival & Santa Rosa Celebrates the ARTS! |
by Journalists of PENSACOLA NEWS JOURNAL & THE SANTA ROSA GAZETTE ****************************************************************************************** Riverwalk fest broadens cultural offerings this year Peggy Gale March 05, 2008 News Journal correspondent What began 20 years ago as a small show to exhibit the work of local artists has now blossomed into a regional fine arts and heritage festival with something for everyone. Situated on the Riverwalk along the banks of the scenic Blackwater River in downtown Milton, the Riverwalk Arts Festival, sponsored by the Santa Rosa Arts and Culture Foundation, will showcase a wide range of cultural arts this weekend. These will include demonstrations of Henna painting and temporary body art, exhibits and demonstrations of art, literary, and musical talent presented by the students of Santa Rosa County. There will also be oils and acrylic art, jewelry making and photography. In addition, there will be an area set aside for heritage and folk art demonstrations. "We are seeing more and more of the exotic as people from various cultures come and broaden our knowledge of other cultures," said organizer of the heritage and folk art portion Jan Dempsey. "Heritage arts will include demonstrations of willow basket weaving, building Adirondack-type furniture, turning wooden vases and bowls, painting china, and doing embroidery and appliqué. These are all handcrafted so each piece is special in its own way." Branching out to incorporate various cultures is one of the primary goals of the foundation, according to festival chairwoman Pat D'Asaro. To that end, the festival will be introducing three ethnic performances: Florida Okinawa Kenjin Kai group who will play drums, the Wako Kai Japanese Classical Dancers and Middle Eastern belly dancing. In addition, "we are tickled that members of the Gulf Coast Authors Association and the West Florida Literary Federation will be on hand to do some readings and to sell their books," D'Asaro said. Exhibitor Meredith Hartsfield of Gulf Breeze makes her own glass beads, which she uses to create jewelry. She will showcase her works and demonstrate her bead-making technique at the festival. "I take glass rods, and I use a hot torch to melt the glass," she said. "I then reshape the hot glass into beads. Once in a great while I get little burns so you must do it very quickly. Because the beads are made by hand one at a time, no two are alike. Then, I take the beads and create jewelry, using Sterling silver and wire to fashion earrings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches and even key rings." Since glass rods are available in a multitude of colors, Hartsfield said there are numerous combination of colors. "Color is the main thing about working with glass," she said. "If everything was the same color, we would all get very bored very quickly." Santa Rosa elementary art coordinator and Rhodes Elementary art teacher Toni New organized the Santa Rosa Celebrates the Arts portion of the festival. "We are going to have a special stage for students to perform musical numbers," she said. "We are trying to have as many performances as possible. We are also putting together a creative writing book to display the literary talents of our students. A first and second prize will be awarded from among the middle and high school student writers. "First place will be $100, and second is $50. We will also be displaying the artwork of elementary, middle, and high school students, with the middle school and high school students competing for merit awards. " Nature photographer Paul Beck of Milton plans to exhibit photographs at the festival. "I like the outdoors and birds," he said. "I hope my photography puts people back in touch with nature and renews their interest in another whole world that is going on all around them unnoticed." For youths, the Milton's Woman's Club is sponsoring a Creation Station, which will provide free hands-on arts and crafts projects for children 12 and younger. ********************************************************************************************************* Food, art and fun will fill streets of Milton this weekend Celebrate the arts at upcoming festival ADAM ZIGLAR of the Pensacola News Journal aziglar@pnj.com Spring will soon be in the air, and the Riverwalk in downtown Milton will be filled with vibrant colors from area artists. The 20th annual Riverwalk Arts Festival is on Saturday and Sunday and will feature the work of local and regional artists, displaying thousands of one-of-a-kind paintings, ceramics, glassware and other art mediums. Hosted by the Santa Rosa Arts and Culture Foundation, the two-day festival will sprawl along the Riverwalk that edges the Blackwater River. Willing Street will also be blocked off so artists can show their work, which will include the work of area school students. There will also be plenty of food and crafts vendors, live music, Japanese dancers, a visit from the Blackwater Pyrates and other forms of entertainment that are sure to awaken the downtown area with a festive flair. The festival will also feature juried fine arts and heritage/folk art shows, exhibits, demonstrations, poetry readings, storytelling, festival foods and other entertaining events. Toni New is the Santa Rosa County School District's elementary art coordinator. She is helping to spearhead Santa Rosa Celebrates the Arts, a contest that highlights the artwork of students throughout the county. The foundation has also worked with the school district to compile a creative writing booklet that highlights some of the best writing in the county among students. More than 1,000 creative writing and visual arts pieces will be displayed in two tents on Willing Street and at the Dragonfly Gallery. "We have to show what our kids can do so no one takes this for granted," New said. "To me, the Riverwalk needs that kids touch. You need the beginning, the kids' stuff." Ann Scott is working to gather sponsorships for the festival. She says the foundation hopes to highlight the achievements of area students. "One of our major components is education," she said. "Some child may not even know that they have talent unless we encourage them." Event chairperson Pat D'Saro says the event grows every year and offers attendees a unique glimpse into the creativity of the county's artists. "Artists have the chance to meet each other and share ideas," she said. "It's a really nice weekend." This year's art show prizes have been raised to $4,000, with the best of show receiving $1,000. Other cash awards of $300, $200, and $100 in each of the five categories will be granted to first, second and honorable mentions, respectively. Mary Rentz is a Milton resident. She'll display her handmade functional and decorative birdhouses at the festival as part of the heritage art. She began making birdhouses about six years ago after one caught her eye in a magazine, and the hobby turned into a profession. She will be selling her birdhouses at the festival under her business name, Birdhouses by Kimble. The average price for one of her birdhouses is about $85. "I've noticed over the last several years that there has been a turnaround. You don't realize how many people here in the area have unique talents. Riverwalk promotes that," she said, noting an upswing in the prevalence of artists at festivals like Riverwalk. "It allows people to see what is out there � what they would normally have to see by going from one gallery to another. Plus, they get to enjoy the outdoors." ************************************************************************************************************ Riverwalk Art Festival Milton’s fine arts show to be held this weekend 2008-03-04 13:24:00 Bill Gamblin - Santa Rosa Press Gazette A young art conisiuer admires the stained glass at a past festival. The Santa Rosa Arts and Culture Foundation will be holding its 20th annual Riverwalk Fine Arts Festival on March 9 & 10 on Willing Street, not far from the banks of Blackwater River in historic downtown Milton. The Festival will feature art by local and regional artists, poetry readings, story telling, demonstrations, continuous live music, food vendors, and will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Different mediums of art will be showcased and on sale including painting, pottery, photography, graphics, three-dimensional art, glass art, and folk art. Joanne Byrd, who works with glass, has participated in the festival for five years and says it is a great venue for artists. “It’s right at the first of March, which is the beginning of our season,” she says. “It’s too cold to have a show in January and February.” Byrd says shoppers are estatic to get outside and enjoy the warmer weather and do a little shopping. The fine arts show will be a juried competition with a panel of judges from the art world. Awards and cash prizes this year total $4,000, with best of show awarded a $1,000 prize. A heritage/folk art show will feature traditional arts such as needlework, baskets, rugs, wood working, quilts, leather, and musical instruments. Many of these artisans will be demonstrating their art, which will be on display and for sale. Byrd says one of the aspects she likes most about the Riverwalk Festival, is no imported items are allowed. All art is strictly hand-made by the artist. The festival will also include several hands-on art activities for children, Henna Painting and Body Art, belly dancing and other multi-cultural dance and music, and living history actors. The Santa Rosa Celebrates the Arts program—a county-wide effort to promote writing, the arts, and other areas of expression among school children—has resulted in a book of writings by students of all ages. The book will be on sale at the festival. The program is also sponsored by the Santa Rosa Arts and Culture Foundation is a non-profit membership-based organization created in 2003 to promote education and public interest in the visual arts, performing arts, and historic preservation. The deadline for artists, musicians, and food has past. For more information on the Riverwalk Fine Arts Festival or the Santa Rosa Arts and Culture Foundation call 981-1100, visit www. santarosaarts.org , www.sracf.org , or stop by the Dragonfly Art Gallery on Escambia Street in Milton. *********************************************************************************************************** Santa Rosa County celebrates the arts 2008-03-04 12:37:00 Margie Baldwin Santa Rosa Gazette The Santa Rosa Arts and Culture Foundation (SRACF) announces its 26th “Santa Rosa Celebrates the Arts” at the Riverwalk in historic downtown Milton during the weekend of March 8th and 9th in conjunction with the Riverwalk Arts Festival. The “Festival & Celebration” will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Willing Street will be closed to traffic starting Friday for setup from Berryhill (one block north of Hwy 90) to Pine (one block south of Hwy 90) along the River Boardwalk to house the numerous booths, vendors and entertainment. Santa Rosa Celebrates the Arts is a county-wide youth focused program made available to all elementary, middle and high school students throughout Santa Rosa County. Toni New, Educational Committee Chairman, of the SR Arts & Culture Foundation spear-heads the program with the assistance of Kathleen Tracey, a former Foundation Board Member. Each encourages and enlists participation from all grade level students and schools. For months now, children in the Elementary Schools throughout SR County have been submitting their creative writings of poems, essays and short stories for this program. Only the very best creative writing pieces are selected for inclusion in the annually published “Santa Rosa Celebrates the Arts’ - Creative Writing Booklet” to honor the very best of each grade level from every participating school. The creative writings are judged by five PJC English professors. Authors selected for inclusion in this book, are presented with a courtesy copy of this published collection as their merit award. This educational program instills motivation and encouragement for future writers of America. The “Book” will be displayed at the Riverwalk Festival in the elementary school tent section on Willing Street. These publications will be available for purchase through custom orders for family, friends and generally interested persons at the Festival. Traditional art by elementary students will showcase the “Dragonfly Alley” connecting Willing Street to the Riverwalk Gazebo. Take time to enlighten yourself with these on display. The middle and high school participants are given opportunities to submit their work of art in one of the following categories: drawing; painting; sculpture; pottery; textiles; graphic design; and a special category for beginning art students. Students competing in these categories will receive 1st, 2nd, 3rd or participation ribbons. The top two winners of the show will receive cash prizes of $100 and $50 respectively. Judges from UWF & PJC will select the winners. All participating entries will be under the school tents on Willing Street. SR Celebrates the Arts for students have been included in the Riverwalk Arts Festival to give a greater scope from the beginner to the professional artist for everyone’s enjoyment and appreciation. The festival will feature a juried fine arts and heritage/folk art shows, exhibits, demonstrations, poetry readings, story telling, continuous music, festival foods and other surprising and fun entertainments. This year’s juried art show prizes have been raised to $4000 with the best of show receiving a $1000. Other cash awards of $300, $200, and $100 in each of the five categories will be granted to 1st, 2nd and honorable mentions, respectively. Competition will be high with quality artwork to be judged by qualified non-partial judges from the art world. Nonprofit arts and culture based organizations are encouraged to participate by providing information about their organizations and volunteering to distribute programs and information at the festival information booth. Separate booth space for nonprofit arts and culture based organizations is also available by contacting the festival coordinators. For more information visit www.SantaRosaArts.org, www.sracf.org or call the Dragonfly Gallery at 981-1100 or the coordinators Pat at 623-8493 or Jan at 623-3711. Thank You!
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| The mission of this organization is to vitalize, promote and enrich the arts and culture in Santa Rosa County, FL. |