Annual Arden Fair Kicks-Off Labor Day Weekend

By Guest Blogger, Melissa Duko
Melissa is a former reporter for Spark magazine. She is a fan of all things fashion, art, and pop culture, and isn’t ashamed to admit she watches Bravo TV religiously.

Despite a forecast calling for rain, Arden Fair attendees saw only partly cloudy skies, allowing for hours of shopping, eating and entertainment. Saturday, Aug. 31 marked the 106^th anniversary of the Arden Fair. The annual event of all things art brought out a diverse crowd of all ages, including newbies like me. Although I’m a native Delawarean, I’ve never attended the Arden Fair before. (I blame Labor Day weekend trips to the beach.) So I was excited to see the wares of local artisans and partake in delicious midway treats.

When I go to an event, parking is my number one concern.  I’ve heard how popular the Arden Fair is, so I decided to beat the crowd and get there right as the fair opened. My early arrival meant I could skip the free shuttle buses, and I scored a free parking spot over in the grassy field designated for parking. After parking, I hoofed it on foot over to the fairgrounds, burning calories along the way that would go toward future smoothies and kettle corn. 

I entered the fair, and made my way down to Shady Grove for the first performance of the day: The Diamond State Concert Band (www.dscb.org).  The volunteer concert band treated festival-goers to a variety of upbeat tunes.  Unfortunately, classical music isn’t my forte so the names of the songs escaped me.  While the music rolled on (the rest of the day’s acts included the Rob Tietze Duo, Kombu Combo, Kwesi Kankam, Stereo Box, Universal Funk Order, New Sweden, The Dreamkillers), I headed back to the vendors for some retail therapy.

The Fair featured more than 50 vendors, including Sage Tree and the eclectic Second Look Mosaic Creations. If you like to give loved ones (or yourself) unique gifts, the fair offered plenty to choose from: clothing for pets, hats, infinity scarves, sand art, and beer bottle cap art, just to name a few.  

All of that walking will work up an appetite, and my Arden Fair food favorites were the Kettle Corn ($7 large bag) and fresh fruit smoothies ($3 for a small). The kettle corn was such a hit that I regret not picking up two bags. Oh well, there is always next year!

Never been to the Arden Fair either? It’s always held Labor Day weekend. Mark your calendar now for next year (Aug. 30, 2014).

See http://ardenclub.org/about/arden-fair/.

Art & the Beach...What Could Be Better?

By Guest Blogger, Francine Stone

Francine is a Wilmingtonian whose passions include photography, theater, top-shelf tequila and a little guy named Finn. She lives in Bellefonte with her husband, Matt, and their Golden Retriever puppy, Finnegan.
 

The St. Peter's Annual Art Show in Lewes is one of my favorite summer events. Every year, I look forward to this event, which is always held the first Saturday of July. Over 140 artists of every genre line the streets surrounding the historic St. Peter's Episcopal Church on Second Street. The folks at St. Peter's do a wonderful job selecting high-quality art and balancing the representation of various media via their juried selection process. The art on display is always beautiful, and collectors of all kinds can find something they covet.

The 47th annual show was held this year on July 6, and my mother-in-law and I headed out early to beat the heat. The artists for whom jewelry is a medium always capture my attention, so we made sure to visit the booths of our perennial favorites, Joy Davis (http://www.delawarebyhand.org/davis) and Anna Biggs (http://www.annabiggsdesigns.com).  

I also found a new favorite whose designs I'm eyeing up for my collection — Moonflower Jewelry (www.moonflowerjewelry.net).  Jen Brower of Moonflower creates intricate hand-woven silver pieces — think chain-mail as beautiful jewelry!  

As a budding hobby photographer, I was also taken by several photographers with stunning work on display. Gene Pembrook's travel photos (http://www.35slide.com) are breathtaking works that increased my wanderlust tenfold. I also loved Elisabeth Bard's nature photography (www.elisabethbard.com) — I found myself particularly taken with an intimate portrait of an angry Chickadee in the snow!
 

I was equally impressed by Painterly Photography by Linda McAdams (www.lindamcadams.com), who has a unique technique of hand-altering Polaroids and transferring them to canvas for an Impressionistic effect. The colorful scenes by City Man were reminiscent of my beloved New Orleans, and the unique scenes and pet portraits by Mark Turner (www.markvturner.org) were captivating. 

If you've never been to the St. Peter's Art Show, I encourage you to visit next year (July 5, 2014).  If you go, be sure you come hungry because the famous turkey salad croissant lunch prepared by the ladies of the church is also something to look forward to each year! 

See http://www.stpeterslewes.org/#/special-ministries/art-show. 

A Fearless New Season of Comedy in Arden...Plus CTC's Big 20th Kickoff

As City Theater Company prepares to launch its landmark 20th season — leading with an electric, one-night-only, in-concert version of Jesus Christ Superstar at World Cafe Live at the Queen, directed/produced Joe Trainor and featuring a full band and cast of CTC fan-favorites —its wildly popular comedy improv troupe, FEARLESS IMPROV, is gearing up for a side-splitting new season as well.

Fearless Improv brought the funny to Penn's Place this summer.

Following last year's successful debut of regular gigs at Wilmington's Chris White Gallery, and a fantastic summer run at Penn's Place in old New Castle, the troupe now moves to the larger space of the Buzz Ware Village Center in Arden for regular shows on the 3rd Friday of each month, beginning September 20.

"All shows are at 8:00pm and will provide you with an hour of endless laughs and tears of joy," says the troupe's Facebook page.  And judging by the crowds and "buzz" the group has consistently drawn, that's absolutely true.  Plus, it's a very affordable $5 admission at the door, with drinks and snacks available for purchase, and free parking.  So, you've really got no excuse NOT to come giggle, participate and make'em up with some of City Theater Company's finest.

See www.city-theater.org.
See www.facebook.com/CTCIMPROV.