Loveland’s annual Art in the Park event, a staple of the local arts scene, is set to begin this Saturday.
The show is a popular event among artists and art lovers that coincides with Loveland’s Sculpture in the Park. 250 vendors are expected, including 175 upscale farmers market booths and 75 art dealers.
“We probably have everything you can imagine,” says Jill Atchison of the Lincoln Gallery, which organizes Art in the Park.
The event will take place Saturday and Sunday at North Lake Park and will feature some new amenities this year, Atchison said.
For the first time, the park will also feature the Kid’s Corner, a new offering that will provide arts and crafts, face painting and other attractions for younger visitors, as well as beer and wine gardens for older visitors.
“We have a kids’ corner and an adult’s corner,” Atchison said.
Art in the Park is open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Organizers expect the drizzle of the past few days to clear up by the weekend, an encouraging sign for an outdoor activity whose attendance is highly dependent on the weather.
And it has attracted the masses, especially in recent years.
Last year, “Art in the Park” recorded over 10,000 visitors.
Speaking of environmental factors, the recent Alexander Mountain fire cast a bit of a shadow over the event. Some out-of-town artists expressed concerns about participating, but they were eventually reassured when Atchison explained that the fire was quite a distance from North Lake Park and Loveland itself.
Some artists, such as Mary Giacomini, who had to evacuate after the fire, feared they might not be able to attend the event due to the relative inaccessibility of their studios. And artist Linda Renaud’s studio and works, which were located near Storm Mountain, were destroyed.
However, her booth will remain set up, Atchison said, and there will be information about her circumstances and a fundraiser that is expected to start after Art in the Park ends.
“All of them, they were all taken,” Atchison said of Renaud’s studio. “All she has left is what was in the house.”
The event is free to the public and the marketplace is located in the main part of North Lake Park. The art area is located inside the Buckhorn Northern Railroad, which will be closed on Friday to allow artists to set up their booths. The area will be open during the event.
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