Vermont Festival of the Arts, The

Vermont Business Magazine, Jul 01, 2005 by Sumner-Kopf, Nora, Plasse, Victoria E

Each summer, for the past eight years, a network of small towns in central Vermont comes alive to celebrate the arts. The Mad River Valley, comprised of the towns of Waitsfield, Warren, Fayston and Moretown, is home to the Vermont Festival of the Arts, presented by the Valley Arts Foundation.

This summer, the Vermont Festival of the Arts runs from Friday, July 29 through Sunday, August 21. The Festival encompasses all genre of art, from traditional exhibits with "Valley-flair," such as the Big Red Barn Art Exhibit, to the oneof-a-kind events such as the Art in the Garden Tour. From cartooning to cheesemaking, from "Bat Boy" to poetry readings, the Festival has something for people of all ages and interests.

When the festival was conceived nine years ago, James Plumpton was president of the Sugarbush Chamber of Commerce, in Waitsfield. What the Chamber and Plumpton realized was that though many artists had found their way up Vermont's Long Trail, no artists were members of the Chamber. With all the signs pointing out Ben & Jerry's, Cabot Cheese and country real estate offices, the area had yet to build off of one the state's largest resources - its artistic community. Plumpton and the Festival's volunteer board of directors created the Vermont Festival of the Arts, which acts as an umbrella to pull together all of the area arts events. The result is an astoundingly accessible and diverse art-dense period during Vermont's most hospitable time of the year. The festival originally ran for a week in August and over the past decade has grown to fill three weeks. With the creation of the Vermont Festival of the Arts, tourists have a time-specific reason to visit the Mad River Valley, even when Sugarbush and Mad River Glen ski resorts do not host a single flake. This "summer economy" helps the many privately owned inns, restaurants and shops survive until the snow falls again.

Today, the ethos has remained the same, as the Valley continues to reel in tourists traveling North on Interstate 89 in search of quintessential Vermont. The Mad River Valley is unique with its sense of community, lack of chain stores and especially its exceptionally creative arts community. The area has maintained an atmosphere of resilient sustainability with its constant effort to retain the true essence of Vermont in the path of increasing modernization and sprawl. The Vermont Festival of the Arts offers a unique opportunity to celebrate what we value and hope to uphold in the future. The Festival draws community members together and welcomes visitors to the Mad River Valley. It provides local artists with a voice and a venue and allows children and adults alike to join in celebrating the creativity that abounds.

Be a part of this year's Festival! Our signature event, A Taste of the Valley will be held at the Inn at the Round Barn on Monday, August 1st. 300 advance tickets will be sold for $30 apiece, with fifty additional tickets at the door for $35. Tickets are already on sale and are going quickly! A new this year is our Festival Kick-Off Celebration at the Festival Welcome Center, next to the Sugarbush Chamber of Commerce in Waitsfield. With live music, great food and fun art activities, no one in your family will want to miss this party! Also at the Festival Welcome Center, you can see a different featured artist each day during the festival. Come meet Woody Jackson and see his famous cows, learn to draw out and harness your creativity in art and poetry workshops for kids, finally display some of your own artwork on Amateur Artist Day, and watch as many Vermont artists demonstrate their talents and sell their works.

For a complete listing of events, visit our website, www.vermontartfest.com or call 800-517-4247.