Taking the Plunge
Paseo Arts Festival adds new stage inside multi-use center
The word on the street is that the Paseo Arts Festival is adding a new stage for its 43rd edition.
Along with its North and South outdoor stages, the Memorial Day weekend tradition is expanding inside The Paseo Plunge multi-use center with a lineup featuring poets, comedians and acoustic musicians.
“The application for the festival is just performers. It's usually bands, but we have dancers. ... And I just thought we should have a stage that was more focused on spoken word acts,” said Paige Powell, development manager for the Paseo Arts Association, which organizes the festival. “I thought that was an area of talent we could really tap into and highlight at the arts festival so we have all kinds of different forms of art.”
Showcasing an array of art forms is one of the goals of the 43rd Annual Paseo Arts Festival, which will feature almost 100 visiting artists, plus dozens of
neighborhood artists, along with 50-plus Oklahoma entertainers, 20 food vendors, two children's art areas and more Saturday through Monday in the Paseo Arts District.
Admission is free. Free parking is offered at First Christian Church, NW 36 and Walker, with a Village Tours & Travel bus running a continuous loop between the church and the festival.
“The festival … bringing people to the Paseo has been an excellent way to get people to know where we are. Most people just wouldn't come across the Paseo Arts District if they were driving down the street because it's kind of secluded,” Paseo Arts Association Executive Director Amanda Bleakley said.
Fundraising event
The historic arts district has experienced a boom in the past few years, giving it plenty of new restaurants and businesses to show off to festivalgoers.
With the state's new liquor laws, the festival also will have new refreshments on sale in its beverage tent, including strong beers, craft brews and spiked seltzer.
“This is a fundraiser for us. The beverages that we sell during the festival, the proceeds go directly to the Paseo Arts Association, as well as the T-shirt sales and poster sales. So, that's an important aspect,” Bleakley said, adding that proceeds fund Paseo events like the summer Fairy Ball, Magic Lantern Halloween celebration and monthly First Friday gallery walks.
Not only are the district's numerous art galleries and studios open special hours during the festival, but more than 90 juried artists from across the state and country also will be showing and selling their wares at booths set up on Paseo Drive, which is closed for the event.
“We're a sought-after arts festival,” said festival Chairman Collin Rosebrook, adding that green flags designate the juried festival artists. “Artists really like to come here, not just because they sell well, but just because it's a great vibe.”
Artistic variety
Variety is one of the hallmarks of the festival, with the artists' offerings ranging from paintings, ceramics and photography to woodworking, sculpture and jewelry. The free Artists of the Future tent, in front of Contemporary Art Gallery, offers various children's art activities.
The eclectic approach extends to the live entertainment. In addition to the coffeehouse vibe on the new Plunge Stage, the festival will feature rock, pop, Americana, funk, jazz and the blues on its two outdoor stages.
“This year, we have about half the people haven't been here before. We have people that have been coming for decades,” Powell said.
“Then, we have a lot of new interest and new talent, and I can't add any more time slots. I have tried. ... So, I'm really pleased with the variety and the quality that we see in those applications. It's exciting to have so many people that really want to be down here.”