Wickford Art Festival: Saturday & Sunday

By Judy Salvadore

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI — The 55th Wickford Art Festival returns to coastal Wickford Village on Saturday, July 8 and Sunday 9, 2017. Produced by the Wickford Art Association (WAA), the Wickford Art Festival is one of the longest-running outdoor fine art festivals in New England. Festival hours are Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM, rain or shine. Join over 200 artists from all over the country and world as they display their fine art amongst historic homes, eclectic shops and quaint streets. Artists exhibit on Main Street, Brown Street, West Main Street and several side roads in Wickford Village. Handicap accessible and family friendly, this fine art festival draws art lovers from throughout New England with crowds over 50,000 attending on festival weekend. Admission is free.

Festival artists will be traveling from Florida, Arizona, Canada and even as far away as Israel. All art is one-of-a-kind or limited, signed and numbered editions. Emerging and established artists will be in their booths to meet attendees and discuss their inspiration and method of creation. Artists love participating in this festival so much, some have returned to exhibit for over 40 years. Rhode Island is the first state in the nation to remove sales tax on the sale of fine art.

“Sharing the Love of Art” continues to be our theme and we welcome the return of University of Rhode Island's Art Department in “College Row”. URI Art Department students' work will be on display and for sale, allowing a great opportunity for aspiring artists to be involved in the fine art festival experience. College Row also provides high school art students the opportunity to explore higher education options.

The 55th Wickford Art Festival's “Kids’ Corner” is returning and encourages kids to explore art on their terms! In true Wickford Art Association fashion, we will have some of the most elite artists and creative individuals running "Kids' Corner".

The 55th Wickford Art Festival culminates with the Annual Scholarship Raffle of Fine Art, held on Sunday afternoon at 4 PM. Proceeds of the raffle benefit the Wickford Art Association Scholarship Fund, which awards $5,000 in cash scholarships to three RI public high school seniors attending an art college in the fall. The 2017 scholarship winners will be exhibiting in the festival: we encourage visitors to stop by their booths to meet them and view their work.

Parking for the 55th Wickford Art Festival is free on certain streets just outside of the village. Additional parking is available at Wilson Park, Wickford Elementary School and Wickford Middle School, within walking distance or take a short free shuttle ride into the heart of the festival. Wickford is located 25 minutes south of Providence, 20 minutes from Newport, RI and less than a 1-hour drive from CT and MA. GPS coordinates for the 55th Wickford Art Festival: 41.571312, -71.452456 Visit www.wickfordart.org or call 401-294-6840 for more information.

A 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Wickford Art Association was founded in 1962 to educate its membership, the local community and general public and to promote the arts in the community. The festival’s proceeds support WAA's numerous art programs, classes, exhibits and community events, all of which are open to the public.