MILLVILLE – The 19th annual Festival of Fine Craft takes place at WheatonArts & Cultural Center on Saturday, Oct. 7 and Sunday, Oct. 8, rain or shine. This event, sponsored by OceanFirst, will feature 150+ juried, contemporary and traditional artists working in clay, fiber, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed medium, wearable art, wood and more. Visitors can interact with these artists and watch unique demonstrations along with the regularly offered WheatonArts demonstrations in the Glass, Pottery and Flameworking Studio. Special demonstrating artists include Maryann Cannon of Copperplate Studio, Mary May of Mary May Baskets, Stephen Morse of Sea Robin Studio, Allan Feinberg of Art in Coin and Doug Starry of Starry’s Woodshop, among others.
The crowd-favorite “Glass Pumpkin Patch” will display more than 5,000 glass pumpkins in all sizes, shapes and colors – each uniquely handcrafted by WheatonArts’ resident glass blowers. All glass pumpkins are available for purchase with proceeds supporting arts educational programming. The festival also includes a Beer and Wine Garden (Permit #48065), featuring Cape May Brewery and Bellview Winery. PackageGoods Orchestra will perform music for audiences of all ages.
Family craft activities available include pendulum painting, creature printmaking, mosaic rocks, scarecrow construction and sidewalk chalk, offered 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Other artistic hands-on opportunities, like creating your own silk scarf, aluminum casting and basket weaving, are available for additional fees. Visitors can also participate in a community art project called “Memory Objects,” encasing photographs and scans of their memory objects in glass to be placed in a large installation.
Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, rain or shine; festival admission is included in the price of admission to WheatonArts. Fees are $10 adults, $9 senior adults and $7 students. Children five and under are free. Festival special: Admission ticket grants access for both days with a Tomorrow Pass, available upon request. Parking and shuttle service are free.
For more information about WheatonArts’ programs, call (856) 825-6800 or (800) 998-4552, or visit wheatonarts.org. WheatonArts is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., April through December. Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.