=
Expand search form

One cool scene: Festival puts art in the park

Patti Battin was working on the design for the 2009 Silverton Fine Arts Festival poster last fall when she learned longtime Silverton woodcrafter Tom Allen had been diagnosed with advanced cancer.

“It was an easy decision to honor Tom by remembering him with the poster design. Tom was an important part of this community,” she said. “I had the opportunity to work on a couple community projects with him and I was always impressed by his creativity, his skills, his generosity and warmth. He never said ‘no’ to volunteering on my community projects.”

Allen, who died in November, was a huge supporter of the art festival and a big part of Lunaria, said Julie Huisman who is co-chair of the festival along with Anne Barber-Shams and John Labovitz, so it only seems natural to honor him this year.

“Tom just loved everything that he did. His work is all over the place. He was so full of life and was a kind and generous person who was very involved with the arts,” Huisman said.

SILVERTON FINE ARTS FESTIVAL
Hours for artists and food booths are
10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15,
and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16.
Entertainment is 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday. www.silvertonarts.org/festival

For nine years, local artists and community members have worked together to host the Silverton Fine Arts Festival. They invite community members and visitors to stroll through Coolidge & McClaine Park and visit the more than 80 artists. There also are food and wine booths along with hands-on activities for children, art demonstrations and entertainment. Visit the festival’s second annual juried fine arts and crafts exhibition called “Wonders of Nature,” featuring original artwork about nature.

The Silverton Fine Arts Festival “is a natural activity for artists to share their work with the public and the arts festival is a delightful invitation to celebrate beauty, ingenuity and the work of skilled craftsmen and women,” Battin said.

With its Douglas fir and oak trees, Huisman said the “park is a fabulous location for the festival. It’s calm and peaceful. Visitors like the relaxed atmosphere and the fact they can visit with the artists. The artists like the show because we treat them so well.”

“It is a really happy and fun place to be,” she said.

Previous Article

Tank top turmoil: Silverton mayor’s attire instigates debate over propriety

Next Article

Settlement negotiated: Mt. Angel mayor agrees to pay fine

You might be interested in …

Wizard of instant replay: Bahr spent years on the road covering sports

By Steve Ritchie  Every Thanksgiving, NFL broadcasts spend a few moments showing the video crew and the technical wizards who are responsible not just for telecasting the game but for providing all the graphics, highlights, replays, closeups, and other elements viewers have come to expect. Silverton’s Olaf Bahr made his living for 16 years in one of the mobile production […]

Berry time: Strawberry Festival returns – despite pandemic – for 70th year

By Melissa Wagoner Strawberries have grown wild in Oregon for millennia and were picked in abundance by Indigenous peoples. But even cultivated strawberries have a long history, having been carefully transported, via the Oregon Trail, by Quaker nurseryman Henderson Luelling in 1846. “Silverton has a long history as an agricultural center and strawberries, while not as prolific now as in the […]

Winner shares the wealth

Silverton resident Darla McVay could have taken her winnings and run. Instead, she decided to use her good fortune to help those less fortunate.