The Anacortes Arts Festival has been a summer mainstay in Skagit Valley for 63 years.
This multi-day art sale Aug. 2–4 hosts more than 220 vendor booths and a juried fine arts show, creating a vibrant art experience along Anacortes’ Commercial Avenue.
Marketing Director Kate Helmreich said the festival connects artists from all disciplines with an “enthusiastic audience.” Approximately 80,000 visitors attend the event, with at least 10,000 attending a fine art show — offering great exposure to vendors and artists.
“As a nonprofit, the Anacortes Arts Festival puts their money where their heart is: funding art education opportunities for kids, art programs that enrich the community and exciting public art projects,” Helmreich continued.
Vendor booths and local businesses
Artisan booths include work such as Brendan Fuller’s ceramics, Sarah Meranda’s jewelry and Jason Napier’s bronze sculptures. Other mediums represented include wood, glass, furniture, garden art, and photography. Live music and food vendors decorate the town, and most local businesses appreciate and support the increased traffic the festival brings to the area.
Brandy Bowen, owner of Watermark Book Company in the heart of downtown, said, “It is one of the few times the main street is closed for one plus days and it is a successful weekend for us. It’s well done.”
This year, Watermark will be hosting a cookbook author event during the festival, featuring the newly released “Genuine Skagit Cooking” authors Blake Van Roekel and Stefanie LeJeunesse for a book signing on Aug. 2 from noon to 3 p.m.
For newer businesses like Ink + Wool, which carries a variety of local artisan goods, the festival enhances local shops and allows “visitors and shop keepers alike to discover new artists,” said co-owner Kali Berg.
“We have developed relationships with makers whose work we carry in the shop now year-round,” Berg continued.
Juried fine art show
The fine art show, dubbed “the crown jewel” of the festival, will take place in the Depot building in 2024, rather than the Port of Anacortes’ Transit Shed. It features 88 artists working in 2D and 3D mediums from Washington, and also several surrounding states like Montana and Oregon. Working studios, a highlight of the festival in which visitors can observe the art-making process, will be adjacent to the Depot.
As opposed to a single juror in past years, the 2024 fine art show was curated by a team of local artists: Lanny Bergner, Rita James, Steve Klein and Lisa Kuhnlein. They had the “daunting task” of choosing 120 individual pieces from approximately 1,000 entries, Helmreich noted.
“First and foremost, the jury looked for a mastery of craft and an individual point of view,” Helmreich continued. “Then they considered how the work related as a diverse yet cohesive group. The artists range from those at the beginning of their careers to seasoned professionals at the height of their success.”
Preview of 2024 artists
Natalie Niblack, an artist based on Fir Island, has won several juried show awards, served as a working artist at the festival doing steam press printmaking and curated a group installation focused on gun violence awareness in 2019 called “Say Their Names: The Anacortes Regeneration Project.”
“The shows are always really good. You know, just really good work,” said Niblack. This year she collaborated with Guemes Island artist, Sue Roberts, on two ceramic works: “Elephant in the Room” and “Family Outing.”
Carly Brock, a painter originally from Skagit Valley, will be coming to the Anacortes Art Festival from the Seattle Art Fair the weekend prior. She submitted a painting entitled “Backroad Splendor” to the fine art show.
“The Seattle Fair features so many artists from around the globe and immerses you into the contemporary art scene. Then you travel north to Skagit to find an equally buzzing art scene in a smaller town,” she said.
Brock’s father was a well-known landscape painter, Joel Brock, who passed away in 2013. The fair holds a special place in her heart: Throughout her childhood in Skagit Valley, she attended the Festival with her father, even selling kettle corn as one of her first jobs.
“The event has always been a highlight of the summer that brings the community together and showcases the uniquely vibrant art scene happening in this upper left corner of Washington,” Brock continued. “I feel really fortunate to be a part of it.”
The public fine art show opens July 27 from 5:30–8:30 p.m. Art in the Depot will be open daily until Aug. 4. Proceeds from art sales support the artists and future programming for the nonprofit’s mission, and all events are free to attend. Info: anacortesartsfestival.com.
For parking tips: Visitors are encouraged to park on the east or west side of Commercial Avenue. There are often spots available at the Depot Arts Center, Anacortes Library and Causland Park.
Jessica Gigot is a poet and writing coach. She lives on a little sheep farm in the Skagit Valley. See her work at jessicagigot.com.
