By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Sophia Handley, of Perrysburg, compared the atmosphere of the Black Swamp Arts Festival to a large farmers market.
And the 29th festival had plenty to feast on. There was music to feast the ears on, and art to feast the eyes on, and of course, a variety of vendors spread through downtown from one end to the other, to tempt the taste buds.
Handley said she’s attended the festival a number of times in the past and enjoys the way it brings the community together.
It also displays arts and crafts that people don’t often get a chance to see and purchase.
“Everyone had a good time,” said Todd Ahrens, who chairs the committee of volunteers that stages the annual event.
Financially, initial numbers indicate the festival was ahead of last year in revenue.
The major change this year was the extension of the juried art show down another block to Pearl Street. That was to accommodate the half dozen parklets on Main Street.
The change meant reworking the way artists enter to set up and tear down, he said. That went smoothly, though the rain that threatened all day, arrived at closing time.
Woodworker Ellen Smith, who designed the parklets, said “I love seeing people enjoying them.”
She exhibited her woodwork in the juried show and won the best 3D award.
[Related: Striking art hits a home run with judges at 2022 Black Swamp Arts Festival]
Ahrens said that the crowds were steady throughout the weekend.
Having the juried art show open on Friday night – an innovation from last year – helped that.
In the past Friday and Saturday nights were packed. But with people coming to view the art, Ahrens said, that brought more people downtown.
“It does change the atmosphere,” he said. The festival had large crowds from the opening.
And the artists appreciated not having to be up at 4 a.m. to set up on Saturdays as had been the case.
Artists reported decent sales on Friday night with third place award winner Derrick Riley reported he’d covered his cost with Friday sales. Friday nights at other festivals tend not to be big sales nights, several artists said.
Overall, a number of artists reported good, if not great, sales during the weekend.
Sculptor John Formato said his sales fell short of last year, but that’s been true at art fairs throughout the summer. Coming off the pandemic, 2021 had spectacular sales because of pent up demand, he said.
The threat of rain pushed most of the Community Stage acts inside Juniper where Greg Rich, a BGSU professor of marketing and songwriter, presented his song cycle “The 4 P’s of Marketing.”
The musical acts got a good reception, Ahrens said. The Commonheart, with lead singer Clinton Clegg was well received returning for a second year as Saturday night headliner. Still as the night wore on, and a chill set in, the crowd noticeably thinned.
Ahrens said part of that is because the beer garden area is extended, spreading out the crowd more.
Leading up to The Commonheart were two country flavored acts, Kelsey Waldon and Charles Wesley Godwin. Both singer-songwriters celebrated the ups and downs of life in the heartland. Waldon covered her mentor John Prine’s “Paradise” while Godwin, from West Virginia, did an encore of John Denver’s “Country Roads.”
With the 29th festival in the books, Ahrens said the committee has already started already thinking about how to celebrate its 30th anniversary next year.
