Press Release
Contact: Sharon McAllister
239-768-3602
email: info@ArtFestFortMyers.com
www.ArtFestFortMyers.com
WHAT: A juried fine arts festival featuring 215 national artists, high school art competition, interactive arts, children’s crafts, fine food and entertainment
WHEN: ArtFest Fort Myers Feb 4 & 5, 2012, Sat. & Sun., 10 am – 5 pm
WHERE: Downtown Fort Myers on Edwards Drive in the River District
COST: FREE admission
PARKING: Adjacent parking lots, street parking and City Garages are open. Look for our directional signs.
Every year, Fort Myers’ waterfront and green spaces are transformed into ArtFest Fort Myers, a beautiful, stress free, open air art gallery overflowing with exceptional artwork, great entertainment and fun children’s art activities. Bring the entire family to this fun free event and enjoy a day filled with inspiring art and so much more!
ArtFest Fort Myers, Southwest Florida’s premier fine art festival, takes place in beautiful downtown Fort Myers on February 4 & 5, 2012.
THIS SEASON, we will complimenting the monthly downtown Art Walk on Friday night, February 3rd, by featuring 60 festival artists and their fabulous artwork. Open to the public from 6 – 10 PM, this block long gallery under the stars is sure to delight the art lover in everyone. Plan to linger in our mini Bistro, over a nibble and a drink, as you also enjoy surprise artful performances.
On ArtFest Fort Myers weekend, over 200 artists gather from across the country and around the world, to dazzle, inspire, delight and entertain you. Majestic palms, continuous background music and savory food make the perfect backdrop for this fine art festival.
Convenient and well-marked patron parking is abundant in adjacent city streets, parking lots and multi-story garages. It’s so much fun to find the art you love.
Be sure to arrive early to view some of the best art to be seen in Southwest Florida this season.
Take time to visit with the artists, who are always on hand to discuss their work. Find out what inspires them and learn about their techniques.
Unique sculpture, original oils, vibrant watercolor, dazzling jewelry, decorative ceramics, glittering glass, imaginative mixed media, fabulous metal, vivid photography, wonderful wood and remarkable fiber created by talented artists provide something for everyone’s collection and budget.
The quality of art is extraordinary, as only the best of the best are invited, after a panel of independent artists reviewed the work of the artists who applied for the festival.
Exciting components of ArtFest Fort Myers include:
- Art Under 20, the largest Lee County high school art competition and exhibition, provides talented student artists the unique opportunity to exhibit their work to 60,000 ArtFest Fort Myers patrons. $6,500 in cash prizes will be awarded to the best student artists.
- Kids@Art, a collaborative effort of ArtFest Fort Myers and The Alliance For The Arts, helps eager “weekend artists” of all ages to tap into their best creative selves. We provide the supplies and supervision to all who wish to make an artistic treasure to take home.
- The Young Art Collectors Gallery is the perfect place for children ages 6 to 12 to purchase artwork for only $5. Filled with wonderful items donated by festival artists, our “kids only” shopping zone fosters the development of future art patrons with an emphasis on fun.
- Visit the Publix Youth Stage to enjoy a variety of free performances throughout the weekend. Among others, Southwest Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra, Irish Dance Academy and Kobayashi Dojo will be showcasing their talent.
- Joining fitness and art is the theme as we host Art of the Olympians over festival weekend. There will be opportunities for children of all ages to compete and create a piece of art that is sure to be of Olympic proportions.
- Have you been wondering if your youngster has a calling to be a violin virtuoso or a trumpet player in the marching band? The Southwest Florida Symphony will be on hand with their Petting Zoo, and getting bit by the music bug is your only worry. A variety of musical instruments will be available for all to play, with expert instruction on hand, courtesy of the Youth Symphony members.
- Art experiences are “going to ground level” as we bring street chalk painting to ArtFest. An impressive fourteen local high schools teams, mentored by professional chalk art artists, will be creating oversized art pieces on Saturday.
- Share for Education, an IBERIABANK piggy bank raffle will feature ten darling hand painted and “themed” piggy banks, each with prizes valued at $1000 or more. Proceeds fund the festival’s art outreach programs.
ArtFest Fort Myers supports the visual arts and literacy in Lee County through a variety of special exhibits and programs:
- Art Clubs provide public elementary schools the opportunity to host after school art experiences
- The News-Press “Newspaper In Education Program” is supported through ArtFest Fort Myers Commemorative Poster sales. In 2011, over 200,000 local newspapers were provided to Lee County classrooms as a direct result of festival poster sales.
- The Visiting Artist Program places festival artists in middle school art classrooms for a day, either before or after ArtFest Fort Myers, where they share their talents and life experiences with our students.
Some masterpieces take a lifetime to acquire. Find yours in a weekend at ArtFest Fort Myers, February 4th and 5th – 10am to 5pm – Edwards Drive, along the riverfront, downtown Fort Myers. Admission to ArtFest Fort Myers is FREE due to the generous support of its sponsors. Enjoy the show!
