Celebrating creativity: Afton Arts & Crafts Festival

AFTON (WBNG) -- The Greater Afton Area Chamber of Commerce is bringing back the two-day Afton Arts & Crafts Festival.

Event Marketing Sheryl Roush said the Afton Art Show was founded by Austrian Artist, Ernestine Bucking 54 years ago.

“We’re bringing it back and the artisans will be lining Main Street, they’ll be doing demonstrations, and celebrating what it was,” Roush said. “Ernestine put a lot of heart into this art show, now called the festival and it’s really exciting to return to its roots and keep that heart alive in Afton.”

Roush said there will be an open house Meet & Greet with Ernestine Bucking on Aug. 20 from 3 to 6 p.m. at The River Club Restaurant in Afton.

Chamber Secretary & Event Chair Judy Hinman there will be all forms of art at the festival from painting and drawing to photography and needlework.

“We have lots of crafts, everything from purses and key chains to beautiful churned bowls and laser artwork,” Hinman said. “We also have a Classic Cruise-In at the Afton Fairgrounds so we encourage people to park at the fairgrounds and they’ll be bussed over to Main Street.”

Artisans at the festival are both local and from out of town.

“Some artisans have created new businesses to have a booth at the Afton Arts & Crafts Festival where they were thinking, ‘maybe this is just a hobby’, now it’s a business and they’re really proud to show off their wears,” Roush said.

The Afton Arts & Crafts Festival will run on Aug. 20 and 21 on Main Street in Afton.

There will also be activities at the Afton Fairgrounds, The River Club and The First Baptist Church of Afton.

The festival will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and is free and open to the public.

The festival will feature artisans, demonstrations, student art shows, sidewalk chalk art contests, live bands and more!

“We have six bands and great entertainment because we received a wonderful grant from the community foundation,” Hinman said.

A full list of activities can be found here.