<< Previous   of   Next >> file photo  (click to enlarge) A father’s day crowd packs an aisle of booths at the 2007 Edmonds Arts Festival at the Frances Anderson Center field.

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Edmonds Arts Festival

• On display: The 50th annual earts celebration features more than 750 artist exhibitors, fine arts and crafts exhibits, children’s art exhibits, hands-on children’s activity area, live entertainment on two stages, limited edition posters, food court and wine bar & bistro, all at the Frances Anderson Center, 700 Main St., Edmonds. • Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, June 13-15. • Admission: Free. • Info: 425-771-6412 or www.edmondsartsfestival.com.

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CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, News editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

Edmonds Arts Festival kicks off June 13

The 51st annual festival is one of Washington state’s largest, oldest

The 51st annual Edmonds Arts Festival, one of the Pacific Northwest's oldest and largest arts festivals, opens this Father's Day weekend for a three-day run June 13 through 15 at the Frances Anderson Center in Edmonds.

More than 75,000 art lovers are expected to attend the free event, which features three days of visual and performing arts, art events and food.

Chosen by professional jurors from a field of more than 600 applicants, some 200 artists will display their works on the grassy field east of the Anderson Center. The Plaza and the Plaza Room will also showcase 36 artisans whose specialties are more traditional arts and crafts as well as the culinary arts.

The Juried Gallery offers a showcase of originals by more than 450 top local and national artists. Cash awards are presented in seven categories: paintings, prints, drawings, photography, artisans' works, sculpture and miniatures.

2008 Festival Poster artist Pepper Peterson works in vivid clear colors in her watercolor, pastel pigment, oil and oil stick paintings. Her work is being shown regularly at Cole Gallery and Artists' Supply on Fifth in Edmonds where she was one of the initial premiere artists. "Painting is both the agony and the ecstasy," Peterson said of her process. "Nothing is better than the high I get from creating a painting I like a lot. Nothing can put me into a funk quicker than if I paint a failure. I guess I can't help myself. It's an addiction at this point in my life."

A juried Junior Art Exhibit will unveil a collection of artwork from students of Edmonds School District, private schools within the district, and homeschooled students that reside within the boundaries of the district.

The Kids Creative Corner will host arts and crafts activities such as Kids 'N' Clay, jewlery making, mask making, button critters and buddy dolls, finger painting, and an opportunity for kids to make their own picture frames for Father's Day photos. There will also be on-going pottery wheel demonstrations.

Entertainment on the Kids Creative Corner stage will include several musical groups from local schools and professional children's performers.

The main stage entertainment will include performances from Olympic Ballet Theatre and Edmonds Woodway High School Jazz, among others.

The Wine Bar and Bistro will have entertainment throughout the day and into the evening. In the morning, coffee will be served. At lunchtime and later, there will be a selection of food available to accompany wines and ales from local wineries and breweries.

The annual Edmonds Arts Festival began in 1957. The mission, then as now, is to celebrate and promote the arts with a lively and pleasurable presentation of local and national work.

The festival is 100 percent volunteer-run and supported by sponsors, which allow all proceeds from the festival to benefit art scholarships, educational grants to schools, community grants to arts and cultural organizations, as well as public art installations.

Since there is limited street parking around the festival site, a free shuttle is available. Handicapped parking is available on Main Street, north of the Cultural Center and on Dayton Street to the south. Free shuttle parking for the festival is available at the Edmonds Home School Resource Center (formerly Woodway High School), located at 23200 100th Ave. W. in Edmonds.