Story tools: E-mail story | Printer-friendly | iPod friendly

National Art Festival to feature works of more than 200 artists

By LIANE SMITH (Contact)

Saturday, January 6, 2007

It's been ranked number one in the region and number five in the nation — and it's here again.

The Bonita Springs National Art Festival will take place Jan. 13 and 14 at The Promenade on U.S. 41.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., next Saturday and Sunday, the Art League of Bonita Springs will host an outdoor exhibition with 206 nationally and internationally acclaimed artists.

Artists from 29 states, Canada and Europe, will show and sell original art in mediums such as paint, glass, jewelry, clay, photography, sculpture and more.

The festival usually garners close to 30,000 visitors, even last year with a cold and windy weekend.

"Last January, we had a huge windstorm come through in the middle of the night," said Festival Director Barry Witt. "Booths were in the trees, it was a disaster... but we actually had the biggest attendance we have ever had."

The festival, now going on eight years, was ranked number five nationally by "Sunshine Artist Magazine" last September, and "The Harris List" ranked it number one in the Bonita Springs/Naples metropolis in May 2004.

"Thousands of people have attended our festival in the past and they come back each year because they know the art is great and there is something for everyone," Susan Bridges, executive director for the Art League of Bonita Springs, pointed out.

An optional $3 entry donation from visitors will go toward the league's Center for the Arts.

"I'm really excited about the show," said Bridges, who is married to Witt.

Bridges sat in on the slide jury last October, part of the selection process for exhibitors. Only one in about three artists seeking entry pass the selection process each year.

"I was tremendously impressed," Bridges said. "Given I'm an artist and I collect art, I'm particularly looking forward to this year."

Witt said: "We really do get some nice work."

Witt, a Bonitan since 1987, has been involved in art festivals for 18 years. Although a businessman by trade, Witt spent a great deal of his life traveling with his wife, who is an artist, to different fine art festivals, and gradually learned the ins and outs.

"From the day the first doors opened, it's been successful," Witt said.

The event was such a success, Witt said, that many seasonal residents not yet in town each January requested a second show in March, which came onboard two years after the first event.

"It's the philosophy of it," Witt said. "My focus has always been to bring in the highest quality work."

That, paired with the location and set up of the event, at the popular shopping venue, The Promenade, off U.S. 41, makes the show what it is, Witt added.

According to Witt, The Promenade offers plenty of room to roam, as well as places to sit and have a cup of coffee or a drink, at places like Starbucks, Silver Spoon Cafe or Bennigan's.

"If you get a little tired, you can go to the outdoor bar and have a drink, or sit by a fountain and rejuvenate," Witt said.

The structure and physical layout of this year's show is the same, but more than 50 percent of the artists this year weren't at last year's exhibit.

"It's a must-see event," Witt said.

Bridges stated: "It is like a walking tour of high quality art galleries, but this one is set up outside in sunny Florida."

Free parking will be available at The Promenade, and across the street at the Albertsons and Target parking lot.

The Promenade is located at Bonita Bay, at South Bay Drive and Tamiami Trail, one and a half miles north of Bonita Beach Road.

For more information, contact 495-8989.