Art on the Farm
An event featuring fine art, fine craft and great atmosphere...
This year's show will be held on
Sunday - OCTOBER 30 10am - 4pm
(As always, the last Sunday in October)
www.ArtFairCalendar.com
This time each year Dexter area residents are now familiar with the appearance of orange signs at intersections, posters in store windows, and those little orange postcards in their mailboxes -- all reminders that Art on the Farm, the small but much-loved art show, will be held on the last Sunday in October once again. This year will mark the 8th year that the show has been held at the farm of Lauren Kingsley and her husband Jack Spack, Jr. It started as an open house with about 15 artists and has now grown to about 30, and they work in every media from landscape painting to stained glass, to soaps to book arts to jewelry. Kingsley creates hand-painted scarves and Spack works in mixed media. Located about 4 miles west of downtown Dexter on Island Lake Road, Art on the Farm is on the former Lakeview Farm, a cider mill and u-pick apple orchard. “Every year people tell me they remember coming here in the past,” Kingsley observes. “Also every year people tell me this is their favorite art show over all the others in the area. It’s the location, the art, the whole experience, they say.” The Hillrays, a local bluegrass group, start playing around mid-day. “Some people come just for that,” Kingsley added. “It can be more like an open jam with people showing up with their instruments and playing along.”“It’s a fun day,” said Kingsley. “For the artists as well as the public. Some of our artists do only this show and no other, such as Bill Darwin (stained glass) and Jo Johnston (assembled clothing), while others are very active in the area and have a loyal following such as Rebecca Levenson (original design clothes) and Nancy Melet (jewelry). Not everyone is local, either: our popular wood-joiner Lon Baker comes from Midland, and Richard and Vicki Miller, makers of wood utensils, come from Millersburg.” As for the public? Last year people came from all over the state, from Ohio and Illinois, as well as the east coast: Washington DC, New York, Massachussetts. “This show has a reputation for high quality, approachable prices, a good mix of artists, great ambiance, and just plain fun. The fact that it is Halloween might bring out some zany outfits, but that’s entirely up to each person.” New for this year is the addition of a team of car-parkers provided by Dexter area Girl Scout Troop 40580. “It’s a sign of our success and popularity,” says Kingsley. “When I thought about solutions to the parking issue, the Boy Scouts came to mind, but then my friend said that anything the Boy Scouts could do, the Girl Scouts could do, too. I felt that was a good point so I gave them a call. They’ve been really great. I’m confident they’ll do a fine job.”Location: 12075 Island Lake Rd., Dexter Hours: 10am - 4pm