The Sturgis Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is hosting the second annual MI Art Fest today, Friday, July 14 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event promises to showcase the work of local artists in the community, and will also feature a classic car cruise-in, 25 art vendors, art demonstrations, and a color walk.
Sturgis DDA’s Ryan Conrod told Watershed Voice MI Art Fest is a partnership between the DDA and Open Door Gallery (101 W. Chicago Rd.), and the event strives to give the public an opportunity to experience local art in the community.
The Color Walk will start and end in the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce parking lot with registration beginning at 6:30 p.m. and the walk starting at 7. There is a $5 registration fee, which includes color powder packs. “You wear a white shirt, and we give you a washable colored baggy you throw up in the air,” Conrod said. The walk will encompass most of downtown, with a turnaround point at Lakeview Avenue, which will have water and a color bomb station.
New to MI Art Fest this year will be a cellphone photo walk, hosted by Open Door Gallery. A photographer artist and member of Open Door Gallery will teach tips and tricks during a hands-on, mini-photography workshop on the streets of downtown Sturgis from 6 to 6:45 p.m. The workshop has a $5 registration fee and will teach about camera settings, lighting, selective focus, perspective, composition, and more. All ages are welcome.
Plenty of activities for children will be available at MI Art Fest including face painting, juggling, balloon artists, a bounce house, and trolley car rides for $1 per person. In addition to these, Sturgis Rocks will host rock-painting in front of Maximum Performance (120 W. Chicago Rd.). Conrod said kids can paint rocks to take home, or place them in the Sturgis Rocks rock garden.
Local author Melissa Hill will be doing a poetry reading on the live art stage from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. during the festival, and will be reading several selections from her most recent published work, The Cost of Daydreams. Hill enjoys exploring many different styles of writing, though poetry is where her love for literature began. “I’m looking forward to the festival,” Hill told Watershed Voice. “I write about the breaths in life that cling to me, the raw beauty of nature’s brush, the darkness that sometimes plagues quiet moments, unexpected joy and the heated passion.” The Cost of Daydreams promises “you’ll be left viewing life differently, seeing the art (and maybe a touch of humor) in everything around you.”
A wide range of meal options will be available to festival-goers with six different food trucks on site during the event. Party on the Patio, Brewhouse BBQ, Mamazzoni’s Italian Beef Truck, Dougie’s Doggone Delicious, Papa Joe’s Grub-n-Go Smashburgers, and Mark it with a B Cupcakes by Stacy will all be participating vendors during MI Art Fest. In addition to these, Wings Etc. will be serving drink specials during the event, which will include the Dark and Stormy, Sunset Vibes, and Forbidden Apple.
Festival attendees will have many chances to make art during MI Art Fest, beginning with the MI Love Locks project. “You can buy a lock for $5 and get it etched for $1, and then you can lock it on the Michigan-shaped lock piece on North Street,” Conrod said, “symbolizing your love for somebody past or present, or something that has meaning for yourself.”
Hands Across Sturgis is another hands-on, interactive art experience where people can put their hands in paint, put them on a large canvas located on North St., and sign their name. The gallery will then take those canvases and display them for a week.
More information on MI Art Fest can be found on the event’s Facebook page.
Beca Welty is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice.
