The 33rd annual Spearfish Festival in the Park, one of the biggest art shows in the Midwest, will be July 16-18 at Spearfish City Park. Among the usual bands and food booths, there also will be a sidewalk art contest, live entertainment and artist demonstrations.
Debbie Smoot, former executive director of the Festival in the Park committee, said each year organizers try to get at least 30 to 40 percent new booths, but there are plenty of returning favorites. They also like to provide entertainment for all ages.
“That way you can not only shop, but can sit down and enjoy yourself,” Smoot said. “It’s something that the Spearfish residents enjoy. There’s a lot of food and a lot of entertainment.”
The booths will feature several visual artistic mediums this year, including photography, silk painting, oil paintings, watercolor, stained glass, pottery, jewelry and various wood artisans. Fine crafts will be represented in textiles, leathers, metal work and culinary items such as homemade jams and jellies.
The festival is a juried arts and crafts show with more than 170 local volunteers and vendors from across the United States, making it one of the largest and best-attended art shows in the upper Midwest, according to a news release. There are usually between 20,000 to 22,000 visitors at the festival, according to Smoot.
Friday’s events will be a fundraiser with a $5 cover charge to help fund the festival and operations of the Spearfish Arts Center. Saturday and Sunday’s festivities are free.
The festival opens at 4 p.m. Friday, July 16. The Jalan Crossland Band will perform at the band shell from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., followed by Brandon Flanagan at the Watering Hole from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Free, family-friendly entertainment will take place at one of the two stages located in the park from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 17, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 18. Artists performing at the band shell during the weekend include The Dance Company of Spearfish, Calypso Breeze, Markie Scholz’s Dragon’s Are Too Seldom puppet show, Max Temple & the 8th Street, Lang Termes, Women With Melody and The Dance Center of Spearfish.
The Watering Hole refreshment garden will host artists from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, July 17, with entertainment by Hank Harris and the Hegg Brothers, and local favorite Brock Finn, and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, July 18, with local bluegrass artists Six Mile Road.
Sunday’s events also include boat-building for children and a race down Spearfish Creek.
No pets are allowed in the park during the festival. There will be a shuttle bus available throughout the weekend every 30 minutes from the high school parking lot, the former Passion Play lower parking lot and the city parking lot on Seventh Street.
For more information, go to www.spearfishartscenter.org. Wristbands for Friday’s events are available at the Bay Leaf Cafe, Spearfish Chamber of Commerce, Spearfish Arts Center Gallery, Exit 14 Phillips 66, Green Bean Coffee Shop, Maddison’s Styling Salon and the Vanilla Bean Bakery and Cafe.
