Art in the Park

 Yesterday my family and I went to a little festival they have at a nearby park in town called "Art in the Park". It consists of tons and tons of tents filled with different artists and their artwork. The art varies from jewelry to wire art to canvas paintings. The cool thing is that the artists aren't just local, they're from everywhere! I love festivals and fairs of all sorts, so I was really excited to go to this for the 2nd time since I've lived in this town. When my mom and I went last year, it was just the two of us so we pretty much got through the whole festival in under 2 hours. This year we took my Dad, Josh, and Sophi (Hunter is still in Utah) and so it took A LOT longer, but it was still fun. The weather was perfect- it was hot, but still had a slight breeze and it wasn't too crowded.

There was hardly any parking once we got to the park-so we ended up having to park across the street by the hospital. Literally, as soon as we got out of the car, a park shuttle came and picked us up and took us over to the festival- we were super surprised and super glad that shuttle was there!! 

The shuttle dropped us off at the entrance and we were greeted by this not-so-friendly protester. Let's just say that she was pretty stubborn and determined in the way she talked... 

It really was a gorgeous day and, despite the look of it, it really wasn't as crowded as I thought it'd be.

The very first tent we came to was a lady who made bushes into different shapes and animals. She also had fresh flowers and juicy, ripe peaches for sale. I loved how she somehow made the flowers grow onto this wall- it was so pretty and neat.

Sophi loved the festival!! She brought he own money and ended up buying a handmade glass bead -which she later turned into a necklace. If you look behind her, you can see the Loch Ness Monster bush that the plant lady made.

Despite Josh's happy looking face, he was miserable here. The only time the kid was happy was when he was looking at art made out of wood (like this picture), eating his kettle corn, or at the Kid's Area. I don't think he was very happy that we stopped at every single jewelry tent. :)

Sophi is a total Daddy's girl. She stuck with him all day long. If we split up, she hurried to hold his hand. So presh. If you look right above Sophi's head, you can see my favorite type of art- wire art. I adored these metal flowers- I really wanted to buy them.

One station that they had was one where the kid's could watch (and even participate in) how to make various types of art. I thought this was a great idea to keep kids interested in art and it was a nice break from all the shopping. Watching this man make this clay pot was so cool and interesting- he made it look so easy!

In the same area, they also had weaving. Sophi got to learn how to weave with the weaving machine. The woman working the station was very patient and sweet- I was so impressed.

Even though it was an Art festival, what would a festival be without food? The food was so yummy. They had stir fry stations, BBQ, Italian ice, ice cream, kettle corn, and much more. I got pulled chicken from the BBQ trailer- I'd never tried pulled chicken before, just pulled pork. It was definitely different- but super good.

All the art was soo pretty, but I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take pictures of it. But I did get a picture of my favorite art tent (just the outside though). Aren't those paintings so fun and gorgeous! I wish I could've taken a picture inside the tent- they were even better on the inside. You can also see more of the plant lady's animal bushes in this picture. In the right corner, you can see the 2 flamingos- aren't they darling? 

I was so impressed with how much hands-on things they had for kids. In the previous year, they didn't have those things. Sophi (and Josh too) both really enjoyed being able to do hands-on art projects.

I didn't buy any art, but I did buy food!! This Hawaiian shaved ice was soo good and perfect for the weather. I was in love. 

 All in all, it was a great way to spend my Saturday and I can't wait to go back next year!  (I had just come from the pool, so excuse my immodest shirt and swimsuit- haha.)

XOXO

Mikayla