Edmonds Arts Festival: Visitors and Locals Take in the Sights and Sounds

The 55th Edmonds Arts Festival, which opened on Friday and continues today and Sunday at the , was packed with people and sunshine early on. The clouds came in later, but no matter.

Weather does not stop an Edmonds tradition. 

Appreciative visitors viewed the juried artwork of paitings, prints, minatures, photography, sculpture, artisan works and cyber art inside rooms 206 and 207. Numerous local schools, as is custom, also had artwork on the walls.

You can also see juried work in the gym.

Outside, artists who specialize in tradional crafts (soap, candles, tablecloths, wrapped silverware, T-shirts, rugs and jewelry) showcased their colorful wares near the Edmonds Library Plaza Room, which offered a fantastic view of Puget Sound.

Musicians played all day on stage in the field stage. First up where the , Edmonds' own award-winning group.

Out on the main field, among the more than 200 artists were painters, sculptors, jewelers, musicians and other unique artisans.

You can find them set up along Renoir, Picasso, Dali, Monet and O'Keeffe boulevards. Be sure to pick up a free brochure, which lists all the artists and where to find them.

Hungry? There are options galore at the food terrace above the scene, on Eighth Avenue South, at the Main Stree entrance and behind the main stage. Just a few of the vendors are Here and There Grill, Lopez Island Ice Cream, Kolossue Gyros and Pat's Philly Steak Sandwiches.

There is no official poster this year. It's been a fundraising effort for the Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation, which donates much of festival proceeds to scholarships and education. The poster will return in 2013, however.

The Edmonds Arts Festival is today and Sunday at the Frances Anderson Center, 700 Main St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.

Got some photos from the Edmonds Arts Festival? Attach them to the story, to Edmonds Patch's Facebook page or email to riffzy@comcast.net.