By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Even coming off a pandemic year, the Black Swamp Arts Festival is still being true to its spirit of continual innovation. The festival opens today (Sept. 10) and continues through Sunday at 5 p.m. in downtown Bowling Green.
Over the previous 27 festivals, changes have been made from changing the date in the second year to the creation of new teen programming most recently with Beats on the Street.
This year the juried art show on Main Street will be open on Friday night (Sept. 10) from 5-8 p.m. It’s a change that artists have been requesting for years, if only to be spared the 5 a.m. call on Saturday morning with a rush to set up and be ready for customers in just a few hours.
The change had been announced last year before the festival was canceled.
Gretchen Rohm, co-chair with Jessica Turos of the visual arts committee, said they decided to go ahead with the change this year. This gives artists additional time to sell work, she noted.
The process of turning Main Street into a vibrant arts village now will begin at 1 p.m. Friday (Sept. 10). The artists will be in staging areas and will be let onto the street in two shifts. “It’s quite choreographed,” Rohm said.
The juried art show features 104 artists in 108 booths. That’s four fewer booths than in the previous years. Accommodations had to be made for the two parklets on South Main and allows for a fire lane and room to get vehicles in for load in and load out, she said. In that section of the street, booths will be grouped in twos, rather than fours, which still gives each artist a corner, a desirable feature.
The number of applicants was down this year to about 190. Usually about 250 apply. Still, Rohm said, the jurors, “had a lot of wonderful choices.”
The artists selected come from 18 states, and her sense is that there is a mix of new and returning exhibitors.
The jurors – Brad Scherzer, Andrew Gilliat, and Kelsey Scharf – will return Friday night to judge the work and determine who will be awarded prizes, which range from $1,500 for best of show to $200 for each of the three honorable mentions. In all $5,400 in prize money is awarded.
Eight of the nine award winners from 2019 are returning. That includes: Best of Show winner Nicholas Ringelstetter, mixed media; First Place 3-D art winner Sumiko Takada, ceramics; and First Place, 2-D art winner Joe Dagostino, photography.
The Wood County Invitational in the parking lot on the corner of South Main and Clough will open on Saturday as it has in the past. Rohm said there are 44 booths, fewer than the usual 50. That will allow more room for exhibitors.
And student artists, who have been part of the festival since the beginning, will exhibit and sell their work across Clough Street from the Wood County Invitational.
Art show hours are:
• Juried Art Show, Friday 5-8 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Wood County Invitational Art Show: Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Click for complete festival schedules.
Local musicians in the spotlight
The festival is a place for music lovers to discover their next favorite performer. And there’s plenty of potential for that among the national and regional acts booked this year.
The festival has also always showcased some old favorites, local acts that haunt the bars and stages throughout the year.
Local performers dominate the action on the Community Stage, in the bank atrium in the middle of the juried art show, the Family Stage, and the after-hours shows.
Three venues will host music starting at 11:30 p.m. Juniper Brewing Company getting a piece of the late night action along with Stones Throw and Howard’s Club H.
Moths in the Attic and Tree No Leaves will be especially busy. Moths in the Attic will play four – an after-hours show at Stones Throw Friday; a Community Stage set at 5 .m. Saturday; then a set at Howard’s at 7:30 p.m.; and winding up on the Main Stage at 11 a.m. Sunday. Also, the trio’s saxophonist Michael Williams will be up early Saturday to play the National Anthem on the Main Stage at 11:25 a.m.
Tree No Leaves will fit in three shows on Saturday – 12:30 on Family Stage; 3:45 Family Stage; and after-hours at Juniper. This in addition to a couple out of town gigs. On Sunday they will rest.
And former local band La Revancha will make the most of its return 17 years since its last festival appearance with four sets – 11:30 a.m. Saturday on the Main Stage; 2 p.m. Saturday on the Family Stage; after hours Saturday at Stones Throw; and on Saturday closing out the Community Stage at 4 p.m. The band will also play a show Friday at Nate and Wally’s Fishbowl at 10 p.m.
The schedule features so many names of musicians who have given the local scene its character and color, including Tom Gorman, a fixture at the festival since its very first year. He’ll play at 1:15 p.m. Saturday on the Community Stage.
And singer-songwriter Tim Tegge, another festival regular, will finally get his chance on the Main Stage. Back in 2018 Tegge was scheduled for a Main Stage show but stormy weather forced the music inside. He and the Black Swamp Boys played on a side stage at Howard’s. On Sunday at 12:30 p.m. he’ll get his chance on the Main Stage. If the weather forecast is right, he’ll be bathed in sunshine.
