Adrian’s Art-A-Licious festival returns for sixth year

Posted: Sep 15, 2012 at 10:45 PM [Sep 15, 2012]

Art-A-Licious, downtown Adrian’s annual fine arts festival, will return for its sixth year on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 21 and 22, 2012.

This year’s edition of the growing festival features more than 80 artists exhibiting and selling their work, plus food, live demonstrations, two stages of free entertainment and a variety of hands-on activities for both children and adults.

"The art fair has grow not only in size but also in scope of media represented," said Pi Benio, an Adrian College art professor and one of the founders of the festival. Benio said the media to be displayed for sale include pottery, woodturning and carving, metalsmithing, sculpture, painting techniques including watercolor and acrylic, felting, tile making, slip casting, sculptural beading, lamp glass beadmaking, and pastels.

The first night of the festival, which coincides with International Day of Peace, is International Night. Guests can sample world cuisine prepared and served by Adrian-area restaurants in the festival’s food tent, and entertainment will include Irish, Greek, Caribbean and Tejano music along with several styles of dance.

The festival continues Saturday with a lineup that includes the Tecumseh Fiddlers at 3 p.m., Toledo-area jazz singer Cynthia Kaay Bennett at 4 p.m., and Lenawee County rock bands Alias, the Dan Kesterke Band and Mid Lyfe Crysis performing throughout the evening.

Children’s activities include a youth art tent both days, an interactive drama experience called My Adventure Theater at several times throughout the day Saturday, and a performance by Ann Arbor-based Wild Swan Theater at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Adrian Public Library.

Besides browsing and buying art from the 80-plus exhibitors, attendees will have several chances to make some art of their own. One popular attraction is the throwing tent, at which people can learn how to use a potter’s wheel. The Adrian College youth art tent will offer children a chance to make pieces of their own that they can take home or to contribute to a community mural. And for the musically inclined, the Adrian Symphony Orchestra will provide children and adults alike a chance to try out a musical instrument.

Festival hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Sept. 21 and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 22.

For more information, call 517-265-2265, go to artalicious.org, or follow the festival on Facebook at facebook.com/artalicious.