PROVIDED

This year’s Babcock Ranch Art Show features 67 local and internationally acclaimed artists exhibiting along the Founder’s Square lakefront March 9-10. The juried show, now in its sixth year, includes artists from 18 states and Israel and represents the full spectrum of fine and visual arts – from painting, drawing, digital, 2D and 3D mixed media, metal, jewelry, photography, ceramic, glass, printmaking, sculpture, wearable and woodwork.

Presented by town developer Kitson & Partners in collaboration with ArtFest Fort Myers, the 2024 Babcock Ranch Art Show is Saturday, March 9 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, March 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free, family friendly event also features live music in the Founder’s Square bandshell stage, children’s activities, Southwest Florida’s favorite food trucks and food and beverage available at Slater’s Goods & Provisions, Square Scoops Coffee & Creamery and the Lakehouse Kitchen & Bar.

Visitors can also meet with community homebuilders in the Builder Expo pavilion in Founder’s Square to learn more about the various new homes available in several distinctive neighborhoods.

“The art show represents our ongoing commitment to making the arts accessible to everyone,” said Syd Kitson, chairman and CEO of Kitson & Partners. “We believe art is fundamental to an engaged and vibrant community. So much so, we’re significantly expanding our cultural arts program in 2024, beginning with the introduction of Babcock Jams, a music program for residents, earlier this year.”

For six years, the Babcock Ranch Art Show has been instrumental in bringing the arts to residents and the surrounding community. Its intimate size is a favorite of local art lovers, who enjoy talking to artists and learning about their inspirations and creative processes.

As a juried show, artists are selected annually based on a jury review of their anonymous submissions. The acclaim, caliber and geographic boundaries of exhibitors continue to broaden with artists this year hailing from as far away as California, New Mexico, New York and Tel Aviv.

“By joining forces, ArtFest Fort Myers and Babcock Ranch create a platform that expands the reach and diversity of the art on display, offering attendees a unique and comprehensive experience and contributing to the broader cultural landscape,” said Kathryn Robinson Kinsey, the executive director of ArtFest Fort Myers. “Attendees can anticipate a diverse array of unique artwork reflecting a commitment to showcasing top-notch talent. Whether you’re an art lover or a newcomer, the show strives to provide a rich and engaging experience.”

This year’s art show features international artist Yoram Gal, a world-renowned expressionist painter, writer and filmmaker based in Israel who’s no stranger to Southwest Florida. Gal, who was invited to participate in the 2005 Firenze Biennale and the 2011 Beijing International Art Expo, has painted Sarasota’s Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in his signature vivid colors.

Attendees can also explore the art nouveau, Celtic, art deco and arts-and-crafts-inspired jewelry of Linda Caristo who learned the plique-à-jour enamel technique from Valeri Timofeev, the celebrated Russian artist who restored prized Fabergé eggs. Also exhibiting are John Cheer, a ceramist from China who immigrated to the U.S. as a young teenager, and Marcus C. Thomas, who paints animals and natural settings with a brush in his mouth since a skiing accident paralyzed him from the shoulders down.

Local artists are also well represented, including a familiar face to Babcock Ranch – Linda Lucas, a watercolorist from Punta Gorda, who regularly teaches art in town. Other local exhibiters are: internationally collected abstract painter Timothy Parker, Naples; Dick Cunningham, a wildlife and landscape photographer from Bonita Springs; fused glass artist Josephina Espinosa, Port Charlotte; Mark Slaven, a North Port artist who creates color-changing fused glass jewelry; Kimberly Marshall, mixed media, Bonita Springs; plein air painter Gloria Urban, Port Charlotte; Christine Adele Moore, mixed media-2D painting, Bonita Springs; and photographer and orchestra French hornist Susan Oliver, Cape Coral.

The art show also highlights Babcock Ranch’s tradition of lakeside music with live performances by local musicians. Thomas O’Brien, whose acoustic tones are influenced by pop and R&B, takes the bandshell stage March 9 from noon to 3 p.m. Solo artist David Rojas Jr. performs genre-spanning top hits from the 1960s to today, March 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

From art shows to music, Babcock Ranch is committed to providing cultural opportunities close to home. America’s first solar-powered – and art-filled – town, Babcock Ranch is among the best-selling master-planned communities in the United States, ranked No. 7 by RCLCO Real Estate Advisors and No. 8 by John Burns Real Estate Consulting in 2023.

Fully furnished villa, townhome and single-family model homes highlight the dozens of one- and two-story floor plans by regional and national homebuilders Christopher Alan Homes, D.R. Horton, DiVosta, Lennar, Meritage Homes, Park Square Homes, Pulte Homes, Toll Brothers and William Ryan Homes as well as custom homes by Florida Lifestyle Homes.

Newly introduced rental neighborhoods, The Flatwoods, offering three- to five-bedroom single-family homes, and Canopy at Babcock Ranch, offering studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, provide more options for living at Babcock Ranch.

Created by Kitson & Partners with the philosophy that smart growth and sustainability work hand-in-hand, half of Babcock Ranch’s town’s footprint is set aside as greenways, parks and expansive lakes, providing recreation and scenic backdrops for homes and Founder’s Square. Encompassing 18,000 acres, the town is planned for 19,500 residences and about 6,000,000 square feet of commercial space.

Built to Florida Green Building Coalition standards, homes emphasize energy and water conservation and have a full gig of fiber-optic connectivity. Prices range from the upper-$200,000s to $4 million.

For more information about Southwest Florida’s new hometown, located northeast of Fort Myers off Babcock Ranch Road/State Road 31, visit the Woodlea Hall Discovery Center at 42850 Crescent Loop in Babcock Ranch, call 877-709-6620, or visit BabcockRanch.com.