Houston. TX . . . Jan. 29, 2009 – Where do Americans prefer to go to view and buy art and fine craft in a festive setting? The answer, revealed in the February 2009 AmericanStyle magazine Top 10 Fairs & Festivals* in the nation (as determined by a readers poll), includes Houston’s Bayou City Art Festivals, ranked the #3 art festival in the U.S.AmericanStyle readers raved about Bayou City Art Festivals’ art, as well as the food, atmosphere, children’s activities (CapitalOne Bank Creative Zone) and weather that make it a ‘perennial reader favorite,’ said Joe Pogge, president of the board of the Art Colony Association, producer of the fine juried art festival.
The next Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park, set for March 27-29, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., will transform the park’s tree-lined, 1.1-mile picnic loop into a canopied outdoor art gallery, boasting fine juried art and multi-cultural music and dance. The only festival to take place in Memorial Park, the spring event welcomes more than 300 visual and performing artists from around the U.S. and the world representing 19 media formats.
According to AmericanStyle publisher Wendy Rosen, the quality and diversity of the art are top-notch. In addition, the nation’s best art events provide a noteworthy intersection of contemporary trends in professional art and craft and major current trends in retail. “Discerning shoppers can ‘buy local,’ ‘buy handmade,’ ‘buy American’ and ‘support a worthy cause’ simultaneously at the very best art fairs and festivals,” Rosen says.“At the same time, they help the economy by supporting the small businesses of artists.” “They can feel good about making an investment in professional handcraft that has been carefully juried,” Rosen says, “and at the same time, soak up the fun atmosphere, the entertainment, the education and the collegiality that’s possible only at a gathering of like-minded art lovers. They can meet the artists and learn where the work came from and how it was made.”
To engage budding artists, Bayou City Art Festival sponsors an Emerging Artists program for area high school students to create and exhibit their 3-D installation and 2-D art in the park. Younger children will enjoy the Capital One Bank Creative Zone, an interactive area they may explore the fun of art. All proceeds of donations made in the Capital One Bank Creative Zone are divided equally among the Festival’s participating non-profit partners. Houston Arts Alliance produces the performing arts stage with ongoing multi-cultural musical and dance entertainment. There also is a wide range of international food and beer and wine cafes for refreshments.
The mission of AmericanStyle magazine (www.AmericanStyle.com) is to inform craft enthusiasts and art collectors about the significance of handmade objects of art. The City of Houston, Budweiser Select, Houston Parks & Recreation Department, KTRK-TV and CapitalOne Bank are the Festival sponsors. The Festival is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance. Over the past 37 years, the Art Colony Association, the 501c(3) organization that produces the Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park and Bayou City Art Festival Downtown, has raised more than $2.5 million for local non-profit organizations. For schedules, pre-sale tickets, parking/shuttle information and further information, visit www.bayoucityartfestival.com.