Wooster Arts and Music Fest widens its appeal
The Usual Suspects and the Repeat Offenders Band has been playing music steadily since 2009. The group brings the '70s, '80s, '90s and beyond with a nine-piece band.
This year the Wooster Arts and Jazz Fest has a new name, and there are changes big and small to mark the 16th annual event on Saturday, Sept. 14 from noon to 8 p.m. The festival's name is now the Wooster Arts and Music Fest.
Wayne Center for the Arts director James Fox said he is finding plenty to be excited about as he prepares for the festival this year.
“The new name goes right along with an evolving event,” Fox said. “It had carried a strictly fine art and jazz music focus. This year we’re opening all that up to a wider, multi-genre art and music event.”
Music will begin at noon with the Savoy Big Band, followed by music by The Usual Suspects from 3-5 p.m.
“The music this year will be everything from rock to folk,” Fox said. “The Vindys are a rock band that we’re happy to have. It’s not a strict jazz music festival this year. We’ve moved away from that and are bringing a wider variety of both art and music.”
The Vindys will perform from 6-8 p.m.
Fox said another change for this year is a much wider inclusion of artists. “It was a juried, formal, fine art show. We’ve opened it up to artists and artisans across Northeast Ohio, and we’re encouraging them to demonstrate their work. Watercolorists, for example, should be working on a watercolor that day, and potters will bring a wheel and clay,” he said.
Fox said he hopes to create a more involved experience for the community. “It will create more engagement with the process. The center is very process-oriented, teaching people and bringing them into the process of making art. It makes for a different experience when people can see the work being created,” he said.
More than 30 artists are expected for the Wooster Arts and Music Fest this year, working in wood, leather, felt, metal, pen and ink, weaving, sculpting, and many other forms and media.
“I think the shift in focus on the arts side will be a great addition this year,” Fox said.
The Wooster Arts and Music Fest is a partnership with Main Street Wooster Inc., the Wayne Center for the Arts, the Rotary Club of Wooster, Wooster City Schools, and Boys and Girls Clubs of Wooster. It is free and open to the public.
Many food trucks are expected, and also new this year will be availability of beer and wine from local wineries and breweries. Artists will offer their work for sale throughout the day.
Children's activities will include balloons, creating art with sidewalk chalk and a Kids' Creation Station, sponsored by Huntington Bank.
The Wooster Arts and Music Fest is held in historic downtown Wooster at the intersection of Liberty and Market streets.
With artists and fine craftspeople, live music in a broad spectrum of styles, local gourmet food trucks, and locally crafted beer and wine, the Wooster Arts and Music Fest will provide a full day of art and entertainment. Find out more at www.WayneArtsCenter.org.
The Wayne Center for the Arts is located at 237 S. Walnut St. in Wooster. The center offers classes, instruction and an outlet for artists around the region.