Rotary street fair returns to Cape Coral Parkway
One of the largest events in Southwest Florida returns to Cape Coral Parkway this weekend.
The Cape Coral Art Festival & Market Place, put on each year by the Rotary Club of Cape Coral, is set for Jan. 14 and 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m each day. The event, now in its 38th year, is free to attend.
A section of downtown Cape Coral will be transformed into vendor city and an arts paradise for two days, as the possibility of selection for every eye is endless. Hundreds of exhibitors with the creative touch will be showing off their style and chatting with attendees about their process and the meaning behind their works, which are, of course, for sale.
When organizers say you can find anything and everything at the festival, they mean it. Vendor booths will line the South Cape for more than a half-mile, and on most occasions, more than 120,000 turned out to view the vast array of selections.
Festival Chair Bob Welsh said “This year, I see it as a great event. It has been going on for 38 years and was only cancelled because of COVID-19 in 2021. In this year’s festival, we are taking a step as a community towards getting back to normal since Hurricane Ian. We also have several local artists selling this year who had shops and studios devastated by the hurricane. They are attending the festival this year to sell their art and get back on their feet financially.”
The Cape Coral Art Festival is a great opportunity for the community to see first-hand fine art produced by 250 artists from all over the country. Two artists from California are attending, as are artists from Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and throughout the state of Florida. The marketplace area contains booths offering unique items plus art produced by Caribbean crafters, unique toys, dresses made in third world countries and local area businesses.
“The artists that are attending produce unique items from their creativity and love of their chosen medium or category of art,” Welsh said. “Each piece produced is unique and an expression of the mind of the artist.”
Categories that will be displayed at the festival include 2D and 3D Mixed Media, Ceramics, Glass, Jewelry, Leather, Metal, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, and Wood.
The event is also a great way to connect with crafters and hear their vision behind a certain creation.
“The Art Festival is the perfect place to appreciate beauty,” Welsh said. “The ability for the art patron to talk to the artist to know the story behind creating that piece lends an additional dimension in appreciating it. The art produced by the fine artists at our festival this year stands out for its originality and quality. Anyone looking for unique ways to decorate their homes should definitely attend.”
This annual event is the largest fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Cape Coral.
“The proceeds from the event help us make an impact locally with projects like Rotary Park and the School Bus Bench Safety Zone project, which launched after the 2019 death of 8-year-old Layla Aiken,” Welsh said. “This event is more than just an Art Festival, it is how we serve our community, and it’s something we look forward to every year.”
While the live event will be in full swing, organizers have continued to keep their online component created during COVID.
The online marketplace launched Jan. 2 and runs through Jan. 31. Any artist or crafter accepted to the street festival has been provided with an online booth for the event’s virtual festival. The virtual component gives patrons the opportunity to preview works and to shop until the end of January.
For more information and to view the virtual marketplace, visit the festival’s website.
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To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com