Weekend Festival Brings Art To Buffalo Grove

Jewelry, paintings, photographs, sculptures and assorted other art will be on display and available for purchase this weekend at Buffalo Grove’s 10th Annual Invitational Fine Art Festival.

This year’s festival, held on the grounds of the Town Center at the northwest corner of Lake-Cook and McHenry roads, features 162 juried artists. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission and parking are free.

The festival also will showcase Unique Expressions, a mini art fair organized by the Commission for Residents with Disabilities and featuring work by five artists with disabilities on Saturday. On Sunday, a youth artist division will showcase work by artists between the ages of 7 and 18.

The young artists include Buffalo Grove residents Sarah Bilton (jewelry), Stephanie Goldberg (tie-dyed letter drawings), Shannon Legge (hemp jewelry), Ariel Notterman (nail art), Pranathi and Prema Posa (jewelry and cards) and Katelyn Yancovich (animal drawings and paintings); Wheeling resident Nicole Rotheiser (paintings, drawings and ceramics); and Deerfield residents Ashley and Hannah Benson (Scrabble tile jewelry, purses and headbands).

Other highlights include a family art tent, food vendors and performances on both day by Cirrus Falcon (on the main stage, performing classic rock, alternative, acoustic rock, Irish favorites, Jimmy Buffet tunes, country, 1960s-’80s retro and more); David Young (Grammy-nominated for Best Instrumental Album); and Check with Lucy, (up-tempo new folk sound).

The success of the festival, which is sponsored by the village of Buffalo Grove and directed by Amdur Productions, is reliant on a team of community volunteers, Deputy Village Manager Ghida Neukirch said.

Members of the Commission for Residents with Disabilities will run a golf course shuttle service for festival-goers who grow tired or have large purchases, while dozens of other volunteers from the Arts Commission and community at large will staff the information booth, run activities in the family art tent and relieve artists in need of breaks.

“Our volunteers are outstanding,” Neukirch said. “I think it’s something that really make us unique. The festival is greatly enriched by the services the volunteers provide.”

The weekend festivities will kick off at 7 p.m. Friday with a performance by the Buffalo Grove Jazz Band at the Rotary Village Green, located behind the Town Center.