As GCAC gears up for the Columbus Arts Festival (from June 7 to 9!), I’m also getting acquainted with some of the other festivals popping up this summer on the ColumbusMakesArt.com event page. I’m psyched for a lot of these — but before we get to that, here are a few arts events to start the weekend off right:
On Thursday, a number of new exhibitions are opening at galleries Downtown:
- Math and fiber arts intersect for “Thread Count” at Riffe Gallery. The opening reception takes place Thursday, May 2 from 5 to 7 p.m., with live music by The Knot Duo.
- “The Great Portrait Show” at Blockfort opens on Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m.
- The ROY G BIV Gallery reopens at 435 W. Rich St. with an exhibition on Friday, May 3, showcasing ROY artists from the past 30 years.
And a number of new exhibitions are opening up just in time for Saturday’s Gallery Hop, include this one-person show of new work by Sue Cavanaugh at (Not) Sheep Gallery.
And now, for the festivals:
SoFest, cleverly named after its SoHud neighborhood host, is being called a “collective experience” to break social and cultural barriers. On Saturday, May 4 from noon to 5 p.m., the festival will have local makers and vendors, interactive art installations and live musicians at Wild Goose Creative and Used Kids Records. It’ll be like a community block party on and around Summit Street, and I know Columbus has been missing that kind of thing so far this year.
See exhibitions from the Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus GospelFest and many others at the first ever COSI Science Festival on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free and will include some grand experiments, demonstrations, and fun hands-on activities for the whole fam’.
The Midwest Photo Spring Feature Fair is coming to Linden for a full day of exploring new and innovative camera features. Photo companies will be at the Midwest Photo Learning Studio doing free, live demonstrations, but what I’m really excited for is the giveaways and photo fun happening from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Central Ohio Folk Festival is a family-friendly festival taking place Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5 at Highbanks Metroparks in Lewis Center. The festival will offer free daytime events, plus tons of music workshops and live music on Saturday night for an additional fee.
And 30 unique prints will be on sale when Wild Goose Creative showcases posters printed and submitted by artists during Pinchflat 2019, starting Saturday at noon before moving to Paradise Garage from 6 to 10 p.m.
Nichole Moorman is the marketing intern for the Greater Columbus Arts Council. Happy #Maythe4thBeWithYou and please, celebrate responsibly on Sunday of Cinco de Mayo.