MUSKEGON, MI – As one of the first large scale events in over a year to happen in Downtown Muskegon, Michigan, the Lakeshore Art Festival is excited and ready to go! The event features a unique blend of fine art, handcrafted goods, music, food, and fun. Experience over 250 juried fine art and specialty craft exhibitors, a Children’s Lane, Author’s Alley, Artisan Food Market, entertainment, the Community Mosaic Project, a scavenger hunt, and so much more!
Nearly 100 fine art and fine craft exhibitors can be found in historic Hackley Park, featuring green landscaping, large trees, and pockets of bright flowers. The Craft and Artisan Food Market flows from the Clay Ave. side of Hackley Park, down Fourth St. to Western Ave and down Western Ave to First St. The Children’s Lane anchors the event, and is located between First St. and Jefferson St., adjacent to the splash pad. So, bring the kids, bring your suits, and get ready to have some fun!
This year’s festival will feature 20 Michigan Authors at the Authors Alley, located at the corner of Clay Ave. and Fourth St. Festival attendees can meet the authors, and browse through hundreds of books with various genres, including everything from mysteries, to cookbooks, and everything in between. A full list of authors can be found here.
Each year, the Lakeshore Art Festival adds an element that’s engaging for the community. This year, the festival will host the first ever Community Mosaic Project. Reclaimed wooden 4×4 square tiles, provided by PADNOS, will be available to the community as mini canvases to create art upon. The public is invited to grab a 4×4 tile before the festival, get creative, and bring the completed tile downtown during the festival. At the event, each tile will be added to larger boards creating a multi-dimensional community mosaic! After the festival is over, sections of the mosaic will be displayed at various locations throughout the community. For more information click here.
In cooperation with the MSU Extension 4H Club, the festival will also feature a custom scavenger hunt program called the Lakeshore Art Chase. All guests who visit the festival are invited to participate! Families, individuals, or teams can complete missions for points to earn prizes. The Lakeshore Art Chase will guide guests to various art pieces throughout Downtown Muskegon, to the fine art and craft exhibitors, and other sites within the festival footprint, all while encouraging them to use their collective brain power to “chase” and solve riddles! Teams can register the day of the festival, but are encouraged to pre-register, so the fun can start the minute you arrive! Learn more here.
The new Downtown Social District is located right in the heart of the Lakeshore Art Festival. Guests will be allowed to roam the festival footprint, within the social district, with an adult beverage in hand! This is a great chance to sip, shop and savor all that the festival and local restaurants have to offer.
As part of our dedication to our environment, and in an effort to reduce touchpoints, the festival is going paperless. Brochures and all content will be available online and can be accessed via our “Welcome Page” during the show by scanning a QR code with your phone.
While this is a free event, we do encourage guests to come prepared to support the many artists, crafters, food vendors, and local businesses during their visit at the Lakeshore Art Festival!
The festival will follow the current CDC/MDHHS pandemic guidelines.
Learn more about the Lakeshore Art Festival sponsorship or volunteer opportunities at: www.lakeshoreartfestival.org. Follow us on Facebook for the latest updates:
www.facebook.com/LakeshoreArtFestival/.
About the Lakeshore Art Festival
The annual art festival has brought between 55,000-60,000 guests, 300+ fine art and craft exhibitors, 20 food vendors, children’s activities, street performers and art installations to Downtown Muskegon. The festival ranks as one of the Top 200 Best in the Country by Sunshine Artist Magazine, has been recognized as People’s Choice Award: #1 Art Festival in West Michigan and as one of the Best Art Fairs in America by ArtFairCalendar.com. Since 2014, the Lakeshore Art Festival has brought in over $7.2 million dollars to the Muskegon Lakeshore area and supported a number of local non-profits. If you are interested in getting involved as a volunteer or local business sponsor, please contact Carla Flanders at director@lakeshoreartfestival.org or visit lakeshoreartfestival.org for more information.