The Fourth Street Festival of the Arts and Crafts is an annual event in Bloomington that showcases different kinds of art such as music, paintings, pottery and poetry.
There will be a stand at the festival showcasing South, North and the Academy student’s artwork on Saturday and Sunday. This stand will house photography, digital art, paintings and ink drawings.
Sara Steffey McQueen, retired art teacher at Jackson Creek Middle School, helped set up and run this stand both days.
“This is the third year that schools are represented. The reception of this community has been very positive. They are always impressed with the quality and skills of high school students,” McQueen said.
Many AP art students from South will be featured in this year’s festival.
Senior Lydia Amos said, “I have two abstract paintings that are being featured and they are in my typical style which is geometric shapes and dots, and then for photography, I have one portrait and two pictures of objects – Jolly Ranchers and paint brushes.”
Another student senior Natalia Kropf-Estell said, “The piece that I will have at the festival this year is a recent drawing which is a really, really big self portrait with colored pencil.”
Even digital art is being represented, including senior Adam Weiler’s colorful rendering of a bicycle.
Also at the festival on the Spoken Word Stage, representatives from Bloomington High School South will be speaking at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Other notable events for the weekend include the Bloomington Youth Philharmonic Orchestra who are performing at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, the Bloomington Peace Choir at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday and All About Belly Dance at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday.
There are loads of activities which means that everyone will be able to find something they enjoy there.
McQueen said, “People find so much to look at, and the whole town is hopping with activities during the festival. There is a music venue and many of the local community volunteer agencies have a space for their booths.”
“I like how it’s a giant community event and you get to see the aesthetics and the inspirations that are popular in Bloomington as well as trends that are becoming more featured in art,” Weiler said.
Amos said, “The festival is a really great way to be exposed to different styles of art, lots of different people and maybe get some creative inspiration for your own art.”
This year, the event takes place from Sept. 1-2 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday between Indiana and Grant Street along Fourth Street. For more information visit their website here.
