A busy time: Fourth Street Festival shares Labor Day weekend with IU Big Ten football

Connie Shakalis
·4 min read
Throngs of visitors fill East Fourth Street Saturday during the Fourth Street Festival of the Arts & Crafts. First held in 1977, the two-day downtown festival is an annual Labor Day event.
Throngs of visitors fill East Fourth Street Saturday during the Fourth Street Festival of the Arts & Crafts. First held in 1977, the two-day downtown festival is an annual Labor Day event.

One to seven, with no four in the middle.

That's the scoring scale that art judges must use as they rank the works of participating artists in this year's Fourth Street Festival of the Arts and Fine Crafts.

Eliminating four, the middle spot, topples judges off the fence, "forces them to lean one way or another," said Juliet Roberts, the festival's day-of-show manager and volunteer coordinator.

The judges for the two-day festival change each year.

From all over the U.S. come 125 scrupulously selected, juried artists and craftspeople. Roberts expects 49,000 visitors to browse what the creatives have to offer.

Security presence a part of the busy festival

And, yes, officials with the Department of Homeland Security will be present again this year. Roberts said that ever since the stage collapse at the 2011 Indiana State Fair, Homeland Security officials have been required to attend the festival, since it has a stage with acoustic equipment. The state fair's cave-in happened as high winds from an approaching thunderstorm hit the area.

Laurel Keller, center, and other passers-by look through glass kaleidoscopes made by Kathleen Hunt of Conway, South Carolina, during the Fourth Street Festival of the Arts & Crafts in 2017. Some artists and craftspeople from past years will display work alongside new creators during the two-day Labor Day weekend festival.
Laurel Keller, center, and other passers-by look through glass kaleidoscopes made by Kathleen Hunt of Conway, South Carolina, during the Fourth Street Festival of the Arts & Crafts in 2017. Some artists and craftspeople from past years will display work alongside new creators during the two-day Labor Day weekend festival.

Sharing the festival with a Big Ten football weekend

This year's Fourth Street Festival falls on a big weekend, as in a Big Ten football weekend, essentially one of the weekends that will draw the most football fans to Indiana University and Bloomington. IU plays Ohio State, one of their biggest rivals behind Purdue, at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 2. The game draws a huge number of Ohio State fans to the Hoosier state and IU Memorial Stadium.

Arts and sports fans will stream in from throughout the region for the Labor Day weekend. Also, since classes will have begun on the Bloomington campus, IU students can make excellent festival volunteers, Roberts said.

More about IU football: Pair of Indiana football players leave the program ahead of fall camp

Roberts said last year's festival patrons spent $4 million on lodging and $1.75 million in restaurants. With the extra crowds, that number will likely be higher this year.

Two potters spun the idea-wheel for the festival

Two potters, Carolyn Mullet and Marcia Cmack, got the wheel spinning that led to the festival's founding in 1977. The plan was to to attract high-quality artists and their works to an already buzzing local arts scene.

Seventeen working artists make up the festival committee. They sell and display their work on a regular basis, locally and nationally.

Meet your local arts folk

Fine art and fine crafts are the weekend's main focus, but local nonprofit arts groups will set up booths promoting public opportunities.

Tony Brewer, chairman of Writers Guild of Bloomington, left, and Blaine Carrell converse while writing poetry for visitors to Poetry On Demand during the Fourth Street Festival of the Arts & Crafts in 2017. Brewer said the guild has had a table at the annual downtown event since 2011 and views it as an important chance for people to see writers in action.

Last year, these arts groups greeted visitors at booths: Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington, Bloomington Chamber Singers, Bloomington Creative Glass Center, Bloomington Community Band, Bloomington Early Music, Bloomington Photography Club, Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, Canopy Bloomington, Constellation Stage and Screen (formerly Cardinal Stage), Girls Rock Bloomington, IU Cinema, IU Jacobs School of Music, IU Theatre and Dance, Stages Bloomington, Upland Plein Air, WFHB, Windfall Dancers, Women Writing for (a) Change and Writer's Guild.

Live performances remain, with different logistics

Performance stages at several locations offer a variety of shows, chosen for their arts-exhibition compatibility.

This year, Fourth and Grant streets must be kept open, so the festival's layout will differ from past years. The music stage will be near Indiana Avenue, and the community booths will move, too. Meanwhile, Roberts said the police and city officials are working on traffic flow for vehicles and pedistrians.

The Helber Sisters band performs Saturday during the Fourth Street Festival of the Arts & Crafts in 2017. The group includes, from left, Alice Wilmoth, Vicki and Janet Helber, and Steve Hinnefeld.
The Helber Sisters band performs Saturday during the Fourth Street Festival of the Arts & Crafts in 2017. The group includes, from left, Alice Wilmoth, Vicki and Janet Helber, and Steve Hinnefeld.

Why Labor Day weekend?

Staff select Labor Day weekend for the festival to help welcome students and their families to IU. Visitors come from throughout the region, plus Roberts said students tend to make excellent volunteers.

The jury process can help new artists

Since the participating artists are the top 125 — remember that 1-7 ranking system — who applied (online) and are juried, Roberts said the works are all "high caliber."

It also means more experienced creators can advise and support newer ones. Suggestions on taking clearer photos of one's art or on not using screenshots have proved helpful, Roberts said.

For instance, a newer artist from Carmel, Taylor Marie Walker, received help last year on how to hang her displays. The mentoring artist ended up not only advising Walker but donating panels on which to hang Walker's work. Find Walker at https://indianaartisan.org/artisans/taylor-walker/.

Volunteer? Shifts are short, and you'll get a cool T-shirt

Volunteers are still needed to help with this year's festival, Roberts said recently. Shifts are only three hours; people can choose what kind of work they want to contribute, and they'll get this year's custom designed T-shirt.

If you go

WHAT: 2023 Fourth Street Festival of the Arts and Fine Crafts

WHEN: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 2 and 10 a.m.-5 p.m.  Sept. 3

WHERE: Fourth Street between Grant Street and Indiana Avenue

WEBSITE: www.4thstreet.org/ has information, ways to volunteer and more.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Fourth Street Festival draws Labor Day crowds to downtown Bloomington