Artists exhibit at Colorscape in 2023. (Submitted Photo)

NORWICH– Anticipation builds as Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival gears up to celebrate its 30th Anniversary next weekend with an electrifying lineup of performances and cultural activities for the whole family. Colorscape will take place Saturday, September 7 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday, September 8 (11 a.m. To 5 p.m.), in East and West Parks, downtown Norwich.

The Festival will kick off Saturday at 10 a.m. with Mustard’s Retreat, followed by the Opening Ceremony that includes the 2024 Volunteer of the Year award presentation to Joni Eaton and the community ColorsCape Award presentation to United Church of Christ at 11 a.m.

The centerpiece of this free, two-day Festival is the art. This year’s Festival will feature 116 creators - 22 of which are brand new to Colorscape - displaying and selling their paintings, sculptures, fabric art, fine crafts, photography, and more. Professional artists come from all over the northeast to participate in what Sunshine Artist Magazine has ranked as the #1 fine art and design festival in New York State.

Colorscape celebrates more than just visual arts. There will be live entertainment on three stages: NBT Main Stage, Peggy’s Stage, and family oriented Art Zone Stage. Throughout the weekend, nationally and regionally recognized bands and solo performers emphasizing folks, blues, and rock will be performing, featuring Sloan Wainwright & Friends, fan favorites the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, and Jess Novak among many others. Shanelle Gabriel of Brooklyn, NY will perform on the Main Stage as the featured poet.

The performance schedule for all the live acts can be found on www.colorscape.org.

For hands-on activities, people of all ages can visit the Art Zones. Parents are invited to bring their children to the Kids’ Art Zone, preschool through age 9, to participate in various art projects. For those ages 10 and over, visit the Golden Art Zone, sponsored by Golden Artist Colors. Additional free, family-friendly arts activities can be found in Nonprofit Row alongside Guernsey Public Library, featuring several area nonprofit agencies.

New this year, an Artist Talk with past Colorscape “Best of Show” winning photographer, Tommy Brown, will take place on Saturday, September 7 at 2pm at the Spencer Brown Studio located across from the Courthouse on West Park Place. Tommy will give a talk and answer questions about his new work on display. The exhibit will also be open to the public Saturday, September 7 and Sunday, September 8 from 1pm-4pm.

The Colorscape Board of Directors has selected Joni Eaton as the 2024 Volunteer of the Year. This award was established in 2012 in memory of Susan Connelly, Colorscape’s first Volunteer Coordinator, who organized the festival’s volunteers from 1999 to 2011. “Joni has been an enormous help in all aspects of the Francis K. Wilcox Emerging Young Artist Scholarship Program. An art teacher at Oxford Academy, she not only encourages students to participate, but helps them with their applications and the preparation of their artwork for display. When her students are selected, she will even spend the weekend with them at the festival. There has been more than one year that she’s the reason we had an Emerging Young Artist booth at the show at all. Thank you, Joni!” shares Peggy Finnegan, Visual Arts Coordinator of Colorscape.

United Church of Christ in Norwich is being honored as the 2024 ColorsCape Award recipient - awarded annually to a community partner who strongly supports the Festival year after year. UCC has continually supported Colorscape through the complimentary usage of their parking lot for handicap parking, a space for past years of the Student Art Exhibit, and their kitchen facilities. “The use of UCC's kitchen facilities have been invaluable in our ability to offer complimentary lunches to our exhibiting artists all weekend long. We could not do this without the usage of their facilities!” says Michele Ericksen, Colorscape’s Executive Director. “Their close proximity to the parks allows our volunteers to deliver lunches directly to each artist’s booth, and also allows us to provide conveniently located handicapped parking to ensure everyone has access to the Festival.” continued Ericksen.

Recognized as one of the country's top 200 fine art and design classic and contemporary craft shows by Sunshine Artist Magazine, Colorscape Chenango has celebrated premier artists in downtown Norwich since 1995. This free, two-day festival in September features over 100 creators displaying and selling their paintings, sculptures, fabric art, fine crafts, photography, and more. Colorscape also offers nationally renowned musical performers, poetry and literary arts, food, and interactive art activities for all ages. The 2024 Colorscape will be held rain or shine on September 7-8 in East and West Parks in Norwich.

-Information from the Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival