Summit County residents get in free the opening night of the Kimball Arts Festival Friday, Aug. 2.
Tickets for Saturday and Sunday are $12 for adults and $6 for kids ages 6 to 17, when purchased in advance. At the door, tickets will cost a little more.
The Kimball Arts Festival has been an annual tradition on Main Street for decades. Festival director Hillary Gilson says almost 200 artists were selected to participate this year. More than 1,200 applied. The works range from wood carving and sculpture to printmaking and digital art.
“Recently we’ve been trying to make sure that there’s turnover and that there’s new artists on the street,” Gilson said. “We make sure that there’s at least 20% new artists. We also make sure that there’s a minimum of 10 local artists, which is about 7% to 10% of the overall artist makeup depending on the year.”
Bars with food and live music will be set up on Heber Avenue and at the Brew Pub parking lot at the top of Main Street.
Gilson said they’ll also be running a “Creation Station” for kids on the Town Lift Plaza.
“This year we’ll have two paid activities and then three free activities for kids to participate in and their parents,” Gilson said. “The two paid activities, they’re $3 each, or two for $5, and they include a take home art item. So we’re really excited to bring that onto the festival.”
The festival is a major fundraiser for the Kimball Art Center, which collects revenue from ticket sales and sponsorships.
The nonprofit does not take a commission on artist sales, which totaled over $2 million last year.
The festival relies on the help of hundreds of volunteers, and Gilson says they’re still looking for more.
Main Street, Swede Alley and Heber Avenue will close to vehicle traffic at 3 a.m. Aug. 2. The roads will not reopen until the following Monday.
