From DOWNTOWN BOWLING GREEN
Art Walk is here! It’s a sure sign of spring when the artist come out after the long winter to wake us from the gray and whites of that season to the vast array of colors that will be the focus of the weekend. April 28th, Downtown Bowling Green in cooperation with the BG Arts Council will present the 26th Annual Art Walk. This year, there will be 31 “walking galleries” featured at the businesses that offered space to the local artists. So much wonderful art to take in, but this is not all there is to the Art Walk experience. There is also a Quilt Show and Exhibit, performing artists and a culinary art component.
Each of the gallery artists’ work will be judged for a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prize as well as 3 People’s Choice Awards. Brochures with a listing of each artist and gallery location will be available at participating merchants and the Four Corners Center on the day of the Art Walk. All the galleries and the performing arts are free and open to the public.
Art Walk is really a community event as it features 25 local artists, 20 plus quilters, a multitude of performing artists, 14 casual artists and charities in Project Chair-Art-Y, BG local schools as well as BGSU art departments. One of the galleries, located at 157 N. Main St., features BG Elementary school students’ art and a hands-on activities for visitors to partake in. BG High School students will display metal work at Waddington Jewelers and other artwork at Grounds for Thought.
The Quilt Exhibit and Demonstrations, located at the Four Corners Center, is another major highlight of the Art Walk. Over 20 quilters will display their work and several will be demonstrating techniques. This exhibit is sponsored by the Busy Thimble and the Black Swamp Quilters and organized by Connie Miller. This year marks the 5th year for this exhibit. A beautiful quilt that will be raffled has been donated by the Black Swamp Quilters. The proceeds of this raffle will benefit the Downtown Foundation Flower Fund. The featured quilt is 70” x120” done in a log cabin pattern and machine stitched with a feather pattern. The donated quilt is currently on display at the Busy Thimble so people to get a peek of this fantastic piece before the Art Walk. On the day of the Art Walk, the quilt will be on display at the Four Corners Center. You can buy raffle tickets now at the Busy Thimble or the day of the Art Walk. Winner will be announced at the After Party.
The Art Walk is one of the ways the Downtown Foundation raises funds toward the Flower Fund. Each summer about 1,000 plants are purchased to fill the 43 commercial pots and 38 hanging baskets in the Downtown Special Improvement District. The Downtown Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations to our foundation are tax deductible.
Other features at the Four Corners Center are a variety of performing artists, including Julie’s Dance Studio performances, a fine art raffle and Project Chair-Art- y. The fine art raffle will be a donated original art work from local artist Lonnie Rosenberg called “The Box Turtle.” The piece is framed and ready to hang for the lucky winner of this beautiful piece! Tickets for this raffle are $1 for a single ticket or 6 for $5. The proceeds will benefit the flower fund. Project Chair-Art- y is a charity raffle where artists decorated a chair in the theme of “The Best Hometown”. The chairs will be raffled at Art Walk and the funds raised will be split 50/50 with the charity of the artist’s choice and the flower fund. People interested in the raffle can buy tickets at $1 a piece. Tickets will be counted for each chair and this will determine the three place prizes of Downtown Dollars for the Artists. Winners of the chairs will be notified on Monday, April 30th.
While you’re traveling around Downtown BG admiring all of the great artwork, keep an eye out for our two panda mascots, Sweet William and Petunia! They will be walking around the downtown carrying pots to accept your donations for the flower fund.
The newest event this year is the One Bite Competition in which chefs create a culinary creation called an “amuze-bouch”. This culinary art event will feature 7 area businesses competing to win cash prizes. Three judges will decide whose culinary delights deserve an award. Judges of the competition are Lucy Long – the Director of the Center of Food and Culture at BGSU, Dr. Sandra Earle – University Advocate and wife of University President Rodney Rogers and Nathan Crook – author of A Culinary History of the Great Black Swamp. The public was invited to be a part of this event by purchasing a ticket for the One Bite Experience. Reservations for this event needed to be made by April 21st. For those who made their reservations, check in at the Four Corners Center between 10 am and – 1 pm and you will need to complete your experience between 11 am and 2 pm. Each ticket holder will stop at each of the participating restaurants to delight in the restaurant chefs’ creations. Ticket holders are also asked to take a moment to cast their vote for People’s Choice with the stub on their ticket by 2:30 pm
The day will end with an after party starting at 4:30 pm. It is here that winners will be announced and awards presented. All are welcome to attend.
With so many activities to enjoy, there’s bound to be something for everyone in the family! So head Downtown on April 28, 2018 from 10am-4pm for an amazing experience filled with great art and food and help make our downtown beautiful. It will be quite the accomplishment to stop at each of the walking galleries, but if you are up for the “GALLERY CALL – SEE IT ALL” CHALLENGE” be sure to have your passport validated by each artist. A complete passport will put you in a drawing for $50 in Downtown Dollars. Passports will be available at the Four Corners Center with your brochure and a drawing bucket will be available there too.
Participating Businesses: Ace Hardware, A Taste of Amish Deli, Beckett’s Burger Bar, Biggby Coffee, Ben Franklin Crafts, Blush-a bridal boutique, Calico-Sage & Thyme, Call of the Canyon, Coyote Beads & Jewelry, Cycle Werks, Eden Fashion Boutique, Eric’s Ice Cream, The Farm Girls, Finders Records, Flatlands Coffee, For Keeps Gifts, Four Corners Center, Grounds for Thought, Grumpy Dave’s, H & R Block, Kabob it, Mckenzie’s Flower Basket, Mode Elle Boutique, Murder Ink Tattoo Co., Painted Clovers, Qdoba Mexican Eats,
Rock’em Sock ‘em Retro, The Stacked Deck, United Way of Wood County, Waddington Jewelers and Wood County District Public Library.
Artists: Betty Winslow, Dee Miller, Carly Riegger, Shirley Frater, Cindy Tezner, Anne May, Nancy Stonerock, Tom Klein, Flannery Murnen, Julia Pierce, Craig Blair, Suzanne Cook, Gail Cristofferson, Melanie Stinson, Chris Burch, Regina Hilton, Tyler Sutter, Emily Metzger, Morgan Savage, Richard Gullett, Caroline Lippert, Benjamin Otermat, John Powel, Katherine Lawn and Wendy Jenkins. Groups BGHS Art Dept., BGMS Art Dept., BG Elementary Schools, BG Quilters Guild, Community Learning Centers STARS and BGSU Arts Departments.
Performing Artists: Ginger and the Snaps, Inside Voices, Julie’s Dance Studio, Julian & Company, Meghan Cullen & Taylor Francis (flutists), Knoll & Dickmann (flutists), Undergraduate Flute Quartet, Wombo Combo Jazz Quintet. This is not a complete list.
Additional details available on our website at DowntownBGOhio.org or by calling our office at 419-354-4332.
