ROCHESTER, Mich. — Can you feel it? The cold breeze is a sign that fall is here. The 52nd annual Art and Apples festival is underway in Rochester, Mich.
The Art and Apples Festival features nearly 300 artist booths in a variety of mediums, live music from several different genres and great food including apple pies.
Artist Sue Pickvet from Sanford, Mich. has a booth and is selling gourds of all shapes and sizes. They are perfect for Halloween or the fall season in general.
“My hobby started 15 years ago,” Pickvet explained. “I spent a year researching tools and dye to make the product. I’d take my little trinkets and put them on my desk. The guys would walk by my desk and say, ‘Where’d you get that at?’ I’d tell them I made it. ‘You’d make me a hero with my wife if you’d sell me that.’ So they would buy them off me and take them home.
“I have no idea where my inspiration comes from. My husband laughs at me. He says, ‘You look at a gourd and see face or a ghost. I see nothing.’ It just comes from the heart, I suppose.”
On Friday, attendees were treated to performances by the Stoney Creek High School Cougar marching band and the Eisenhower Dance Youth Ensemble.
Artist Sarah VanTol from Midland, Mich. is selling glass art. Some of them are functional dinner plates while others can be hung from a wall.
“I am a fused glass artist, I do hot work and I mount it on brushed stainless steel,” VanTol explained. “I love the contemporary style, very clean, very elegant, but lots of colors and textures. I think the color has a tendency to inspire me. I always tend to create a sense of movement within the wall art. I love sort of pushing the limits in glass. The plates are functional. Other pieces can hang on the wall. My price point starts at about $60 and goes on up to about $1,650. It’s been slightly wet, but a great day so far.”
Kettle corn was a popular choice among the attendees on this chilly September evening. Pretzels, almonds and coffee are also available for purchase.
The Art and Apples Festival is a fundraiser for the Paint Creek Center for the Arts.
For more information about the event, visit https://www.pccart.org/festival/
