Art & Apples Festival starts this Friday

The annual Art & Apples Festival will kick off on Friday, September 7, and run through Sunday, September 9, bringing together artists and craft makers from throughout the country to Rochester's Municipal Park.

The event is held annually by the Paint Creek Center for the Arts, and serves as the non-profit organization's main fundraiser for the year.

The event will feature nearly 300 booths for jury-selected artists from across the nation to display their work for sale. New artists and more than 200 returning artists will showcase work in 18 mediums of fine art, including 2D and 3D mixed media, ceramics, digital art, drawing, wearable and non-wearable fiber, leather, glass, printmaking, non-metal and metal jewelry, metalsmithing, painting, photography, sculpture and woodworking. Art ranges in size from small collectibles and heirloom pieces to giant sculptures.

Art, live entertainment, children's activities, a wide array of foods, and apple treats, such as apple cider, strudel, pies, caramel apples and other items are available.

This year's event will run from 4-7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 7; 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 8; and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 9.

The festival was recently named as one of the nation's Top 10 Fine Art and Design Festivals in the 26th annual edition of the 200 Best List of Shows in America, as compiled by Sunshine Artist Magazine.

"Over the years, Sunshine Artist Magazine has consistently ranked Art and Apples as one of the nation's top 50 fine art festivals, so it's exciting for us to be in the top 10. Since the award is voted on by artists who showcase their work at the festival, its even more gratifying," said Elizabeth Chilton, executive director for the Paint Creek Center for the Arts. "As those who attend Art & Apples each year know, we work very hard to provide a wide variety of exceptional quality art so everyone is sure to find treasures in every category."

The annual event is held on the weekend following Labor Day in Rochester's 30-acre park. Entertainment this year will include headliners, The Sheila Landis Trio, on Friday, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.; Denise Davis and the Motor City Sensations on Saturday; and The Legend Brothers, on Sunday. Other entertainers will include Motor City Irish Dance; LL7 Latin Jazz; 3rd Degree Burns; After Blue; Erica Mourad; The Swing Shift Orchestra; Melissa Lee; the Stoney Creek High School Cougar Marching Band; the Rochester Adams High School Highlander Marching Band; the Rochester High School Falcon Marching Band; the 2nd Street Studio of Dance; Deborah's Stage Door Center for the Performing Arts; and the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble.

A Kid's Arts Zone will include special art and craft projects; temporary tattoos; dress up with the Rochester Masons; bounce houses from Oakland County, a monster-size coloring mural and other activities.

A full list of artists, food vendors, activities and entertainment schedule can be found at pccart.org/festival.