The 2022 Gloucester Arts Festival does more than spotlight the arts. It celebrates community. During the party that lasts the entire month of June, Virginia’s coastal daffodil capital invites residents and visitors to reconnect with one another while sampling a palette of events from one-act plays and studio tours to the first-ever Village Arts Day along Main Street.
“The Gloucester Arts Festival is growing because our community’s commitment to the arts is growing,” said Elizabeth Blackney, executive director of the Cook Foundation, which began sponsoring the annual festival in 2017. “People trust art as an expression of humanity. After everything we have been through as a country and as a planet, we’re excited to contribute to our community and bring people into communion with each other through the arts.”
The festival that runs from June 4-25, 2022, kicks off with a pair of new offerings. Local painter Theresa Stifel will take groups behind the scenes into the actual creating spaces of working artists in Gloucester County. The sites include a trip to Perrin Creek Custom Cowboy Boots, where craftsman Steve Christo hand stitches every pair of cowboy boots using the same vintage machinery from 100 years ago.
“While most of the festival is centered around Main Street, the studio tours showcase how Gloucester County has an abundance of talented artists across many disciplines,” Blackney said.
On the evening of June 4, Gloucester High School will host three one-act plays, the first-time theater has been part of the festival.
“By adding the plays, we get an opportunity to see what the performers in our own community are bringing to the arts, it’s inspiring,” Blackney said.
The Cook Foundation has commissioned Richmond artist Matt Lively to paint a fifth mural in downtown Gloucester to be unveiled at the start of the festival. The mural will color the overhang on the State Farm Building adjacent to Arts on Main. It will reflect Gloucester County’s historical connection with the beehive, adopted as its seal in 1974. The beehive symbolizes what can be accomplished when a community works together.
Plein air artists continue to be the cornerstone of the festival. These artists capture the beauty of their surroundings while experiencing them. Gloucester loveliness, heightened with everything in bloom during warmer months, makes for the perfect subject. Some of the plein air artists will start painting at the free-to-all concert by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra on June 11, but all will be at their easels the week of June 14-18. For the first time, historic Abingdon Church will host the plein air artists during Cocktails in the Garden, who can paint indoors or outside among its 143 acres that are home to a walled cemetery, numerous flower beds and a meditation garden.
Mark your calendar for Village Arts Day, a mini-festival all by itself on June 25 along Main Street. It is the culminating daytime event of the festival that will give visitors a chance to engage with the potters, painters, jewelry makers and other artisans about their process and shop for one-of-a-kind treasures.
The 2022 festival is expected to attract more than 5,000 visitors. Adrianne Ryder Cook-Joseph, founder of the Cook Foundation, cherishes the festival as both an expression of what a remarkable place Gloucester is to live and a restorative event that will contribute to overall community wellness.
“Arts are very healing,” she said. “We feed our soul with the arts. They give the chance for us to pause and think about our lives and other people’s lives and what is meaningful in life. The Gloucester Arts Festival is an event that makes people feel part of the community fabric by offering a place for everyone to bond over art.”
GLOUCESTER ARTS FESTIVAL EVENT LINE UP
June 4-5
Heart of the River Studio Tour
Theresa Stifel will lead groups behind the scenes into the studios of local artists, who include bootmaker Steve Christo, Village Blacksmith George Cramer and renowned plein air painter Carolyn Dudley.
June 4
A Night Off Broadway in Gloucester
Gloucester High School is the host of three one-act plays. High school students will perform “The Yellow Boat”, The Court House Players will put on “Princess Party Smackdown.” and The Virginia Stage Company will present “Meet Mark Twain”.
June 7-8 (tentative)
Sculpture Walk
Details TBA
June 11
Symphony Under the Stars
This free family concert on Main Street features the Virginia Symphony Orchestra for the 16th straight year. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket and arrive early. Educator Helen Martell will conduct.
June 14
Brews & Brine
Join the plein air painters in a picturesque, casual setting where attendees can enjoy oysters and beer, featuring our Perennial Haze IPA beer (specially created for the festival by Gloucester Brewing Company) along with food trucks and live music by Lane Rice. Art, food, and beautiful scenery will make for a lovely evening for the whole family.
June 16
A Night at Historic Abingdon Church featuring Cocktails in the Garden and a bluegrass concert
The Abingdon congregation dates back to the mid-1600s, and the foundation of the original church can still be found inside the south wall of its grounds. During Cocktails in the Garden, plein air artists will be invited to find the perfect spot to paint, whether inside the church or somewhere on the gorgeous sprawling property. Guests are encouraged to stick around for an evening bluegrass concert featuring Chris Jones and the Night Drivers.
June 18
Paint Main and Plain Air Invitational Exhibit + Gala
If you have heard of speed chess, this is a speed paint, a fast-paced activity for plein air artists to create their works quickly, in two hours or less. Folks can buy the canvases right off the easels! Later that evening, the barn at historic Elmington Estate will host the gala that will feature all of the paintings from the past week. Music and entertainment will accompany the exhibition. The finished artwork will move to Arts on Main the next day for the duration of the festival.
June 25
Village Arts Day + Artisan Market, Last Chance Reception
Get to know artisans from Gloucester, Williamsburg and the surrounding region as part of this daylong, hands-on, family friendly event that will be up and down Main Street. The Tabb House lawn will host multiple performances and a kids painting station. The festival closes out at Arts on Main, where all the work created during the month will be on display and available for purchase.
With so much to see and do, make sure to map out your itinerary in advance. Learn more about the festival at gloucesterartsfestival.com.
