Local nonprofit brings free-entry fest with art, activities, entertainment and food
Allentown, PA – From September 30 – October 2, Cedar Beach Park will be transformed as the third annual Allentown ArtsFest takes shape, bringing together an eclectic artist community and celebrating emerging mediums of art and unique creators.
Hosted by local nonprofit, The Alternative Gallery, ArtsFest 2016 features over 300 artists, vendors, musicians, buskers and performers. Admission and entertainment are FREE for all ages. Attendance this year is projected to reach 12,000.
This year boasts three stages of entertainment: ArtsFest Main Stage, showcasing a diverse range of touring bands and local performers; the Social Medium Stage, with stand-up comedians, spoken word, improv, underground theater and film screenings, and the Tape Swap Radio Stage, drawing acts from the eclectic DIY music scene in the Lehigh Valley, features over a dozen performances throughout the weekend, including Lehigh Valley avant-garde drone jazz band, Pink Hex.
Some of the featured performers this year include: King Dead, Summer Scouts, Rumple Stiltskinz, KEG, VoirVoir, and more. All performance and entertainment schedules will be announced in late August.
The ‘Graffiti Jam’ section will return with breakdancers, DJs, and graffiti artists. Guest curator, Meano, has booked some of the most celebrated graffiti artists of the East Coast to live-paint large panels while fest-goers watch. Artists include Distort, Mek One, Acroe, SNX, Sicks, Dafse, Yes, Ras and more. The panels will be on display for the duration of the festival, set to be installed in various locations throughout the Lehigh Valley following ArtsFest.
Vendors include Coffee House Without Limits, Filament Innovations, Dwerk Productions, Impulse Recording Studio, Alex Clare, HaggisVitae Studios, Edie’s Eatery, Taza Truck, Kappy Bash Mode, Sons of Allentown and more.
Other featured activities at ArtsFest 2016 include:
– Fun and unique demonstrations and art-making activities for kids, offered at the ‘Alternative Clubhouse’ section
– Interactive songwriting, in which participants learn to write an original song and explore the songwriting process, offered by nonprofit LV Girls Rock at their ‘LV Kids Rock’ camp.
– Screen-printing demonstrations onsite, creating one-of-a-kind shirts for festival goers, offered by Lehigh Valley Apparel Creations
– Installations and yarnbombing by the Knitter’s Edge
– A 3D printer exhibit by Filament Innovations, demonstrating a new cutting-edge 3D printer design, on display for the first time in public at ArtsFest
– A chance to try over a dozen craft beers from several local breweries in the ‘Brewhalla’ section, hosted through Shangy’s refrigerated truck
– Filming, development, and screening of a brand new, original ArtsFest short film by Matthew Blum, shot on 16mm film over the duration of the weekend
– Skate Park demonstrations and contests by Homebase and Lost Soul Skateboards.
Allentown ArtsFest, the flagship project of the Alternative Gallery, first launched in September 2014. A free, three-day festival held at the beautiful Cedar Beach Park in Allentown, ArtsFest welcomed over 5,000 members of our community in its first year and over 8,000 in its sophomore year. This year, upwards of 10,000 are projected to come and enjoy the diverse art, music and culture of the Lehigh Valley. ArtsFest is proud to offer ongoing live art demonstrations, installations, non-stop music on multiple stages, a technology area, film screenings, dance performances, over 300 participating artists and vendors, locally made food and craft beer, free children’s art activities and a full-scale skate park. ArtsFest aims to create a one-of-a-kind experience and showcase creators who take a unique approach to the creative process.
All posters and design materials for ArtsFest 2016 were created by local artist Alex Clare. Alex established himself as a prominent artist in the Lehigh Valley after winning the very first LV Art Wars in 2011. Since then, Alex has gone on to create labels for Brew Works, worked as a caricature artist, and has become a full-time graphic designer in the creative department at Crayola. Alex’s work has been shown in the Alternative Gallery, Connexions Gallery and the Allentown Art Museum among many others. You can view Alex’s work at: http://www.alexandertheart.com/
Sponsors of ArtsFest 2016 include: Green Mountain Energy, Home Depot, Lafayette Ambassador Bank, PsPrint, Shangy’s, & LVAC.
The Alternative Gallery is a nonprofit (501-c3) organization founded in 2012 in
Allentown, PA. The mission of the gallery is to strengthen the community through art and education. The Alternative Gallery hosts hundreds of events each year, including live music, a weekly open mic, dance competitions, art classes, screenings, workshops, art exhibits and more.
For more information visit: http://www.allentownartsfest.com/
facebook.com/AllentownArtsFest
Twitter: @_ArtsFest
THE ALTERNATIVE GALLERY
707 N. 4th Street, Suite 103
Allentown, PA 18102
610-462-3282
Contact@TheAlternativeGallery.com
facebook.com/TheAlternativeGallery
Information Provided By:
The Alternative Gallery
