For over four decades, the Hockaday Museum of Art has hosted one of the premier art festivals in the Flathead Valley, Arts in the Park. Even with all of that experience with successful events, the museum continues to tweak the festival to make it all the more enjoyable for patrons.
The museum will present the 44th annual Arts in the Park celebration from July 20 through July 22 in Kalispell’s Depot Park. Friday and Saturday run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Arts in the Park is a big weekend for the artists chosen to participate, but it’s also a mainstay for the museum, according to the Hockaday’s executive director, Liz Moss.
“It’s our showcase piece,” she said. “It’s basically the biggest fundraiser of the year.”
This year’s event will feature at least 115 booths, full of many different types of art and craftwork made from a variety of media. Most of the artists are local, Moss said, but there is also regional representation as well.
Moss said those who have been to the event in previous years will recognize some favorites, as well as “plenty of surprises.” An artist or craftsman must be chosen to participate in the show, Moss said, which allows the Hockaday to keep a high standard of quality and variety in the show.
The weekend also includes a lengthy music lineup to entertain patrons as they browse the booths. One of the differences this year is a bigger space near the music area, Moss said, to open up seating and allow better access to the tunes.
Some of musicians in the lineup come from the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation as a preview for the organization’s upcoming August concert series and workshop. Those artists include Tim Torgerson and Simone Craft, local musicians who earned scholarships for the workshop.
Along with music and art, there will also be food and beverage vendors.
Admission for Arts in the Park is $3 a day, or patrons can buy an all-weekend button for $5. Children under the age of 6 get in free. The buttons also have a new feature this year, Moss said. Those who purchase the $5 pass will also get special deals at local area businesses from July 20 to July 27.
For example, a button wearer would get free admission to the Hockaday, a 10 percent discount at Ceres Bakery and 15 percent off one item at Fawn Boutique, among over a dozen other offers.
The button deals are an example of a new level of collaboration between the museum and local businesses, Moss said.
Also, those wishing to support the Hockaday can attend Rising Sun Bistro’s community night on July 20, during which the restaurant will donate 10 percent of its receipt totals from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. to the museum.
Arts in the Park will also coincide with the Glacier Rally in the Rockies, which gets kicked off in a new style this year with the High Heel-a-Thon. Teams of eight – four women and four men – wearing high heels will perform a relay race down Kalispell’s Main Street, with prizes awarded to winners in accordance with the size and type of heel on their shoes.
The race benefits the Soroptimists, and 25 percent goes directly to the Abbie Shelter and Violence Free Crisis Line. The race begins at 9:45 a.m. on July 21.
For more information on Arts in the Park, visit www.hockadaymuseum.org.