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City of Englewood's |
Sponsored by the Englewood Fine Arts Commission
Saturday and Sunday, August 9 and 10 are the dates set for the 24th annual Englewood Fine Arts Festival, "Englewood Festival '97." The festival is sponsored by the Englewood Fine Arts Commission and held at Centennial Park on Union Blvd.Festival hours this year will be 10 am. - 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Sunday. Festival Chairperson Tina Bryenton said the '97 event should set another record with more than 150 artists and crafts people expected to display a wide variety of talents and wares.
"We've been at this for nearly 25 years, so our festival is a well established and popular event with the arts and crafts community," said Bryenton. "Most of our artists and artisans come back year after year. And the community shows a great deal of support for the festival, too. Again this year, we've had to add a number of new booths to accommodate the growth.
Arts Commission President Jeanette McGraw credits the growth to the continuity of the early August event, as well as to the entertainment and special events features both days. "What's more, " says McGraw, "we work hard to make improvements to the festival each year. I think we've been successful in our effort to upgrade the show. Many of the artists rate our festival as their top choice among the many they attend throughout the year."
Another trademark of the Englewood show, is the many and varied food specialties. Local civic organizations, including Northmont Rotary, Boy Scouts, the Englewood Sister City Club and church groups offer a broad range of specialty foods. In all, 15 separate booths will be offering food and drink.
Heading the entertainment list will be the Northmont High School band who will perform in concert on Saturday afternoon. In addition, the Englewood Civic Band is scheduled as well as the Tom Dougherty Orchestra. Country, pop and jazz and a whole lot more are promised for the two-day event. A full schedule of festival entertainment will be featured in upcoming editions of this paper.
Two additional attractions include the annual Festival parade on Saturday morning, as well as the SK Classic run at 9 am. Last year, over 300 runners participated in the race and more than 500 are expected this Year.
Nearly a hundred units are anticipated for the parade that will begin at Ward Field off W. Wenger Road and terminate on the festival grounds at Centennial Park.
Bryenton said that last year attendance for the two day festival was one of the best years on record. "Certainly the moderate weather had a lot to do with it. We had nearly 15,000 people. But even if the weather is hot and humid as it sometimes is, having most of the activities in the woods makes it much more enjoyable for everyone. With all things considered, we expect to set a new attendance record this year." said Bryenton.
Englewood Mayor Ed Kemper commented that the Englewood Festival is the city's premier event. "Every community needs an identity " said Kemper "and the Arts festival has become known and accepted as a major summer weekend event throughout the Miami Valley. " Mayor Kemper credits the event's success to the Fine Arts Commission. "There's a lot of work accomplished by many. different individuals as well as our city crews," said Kemper, "but there's no question that the guys and girls of the Fine Arts Commission provide the inspiration and the bulk of the work. They've done a tremendous job in creating a truly fist class community event we can all be proud of."
