On Saturday morning, Grace Tomberg of Algonquin “wanted to check things out” at the Geneva Arts Fair, an art show she has visited many times before.
“I wanted to get here before it starts raining,” she said as threatening skies loomed overhead shortly before 10 a.m. Saturday on the first day of the two-day event along Third Street in downtown Geneva. “When I come to a show, I like looking for glass things, ceramic things and to see what’s new and different out there. Most of the time I come home with something. When I see something I like, and it’s reasonable, I buy it.”
The Geneva Chamber of Commerce and the city of Geneva are offering the Geneva Arts Fair, which features more than 100 artists from well over a dozen states spread out over a four-block area of Third Street from James Street to South Street. It will conclude from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Johanna Patterson, communications director for the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, said this was the 23rd year offering the event and that it has become so popular “people started applying for this last November and we have a waiting list.”
“We have 140 artists and our waiting list has at least 20 more people who were hoping to get into the show but we just don’t have room,” she said. “Our artists come from all over the country.”
This year’s show includes representation from Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, Florida, Alabama, Ohio, New Mexico, Tennessee, Virginia and Pennsylvania as well as here in Illinois and “all the surrounding Midwest states.”
“Our fair is popular with both visitors and artists. Artists like to come to our fair because they like to take advantage of what we have in our downtown,” Patterson said. “We’ve recently been awarded as being one of the top 200 art shows in the country, a recognition we’ve had before.”
Attendance over the two days is expected to be somewhere around 25,000, organizers said.
New this year is a community mural being produced by citizens who signed up in advance. Painting was done on Friday and Saturday with the viewing scheduled for Sunday, Patterson said.
Early morning drizzle did not stop more than a hundred who were visiting booths even before the official 10 a.m. opening of the event Saturday.
Artists like Amy Weh from Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, said this was her first time at the show and wanted to come “because I’m expanding my territory as far as where I sell my pieces.”
“I have more time now since I’m an art teacher and I have the summers off,” she said. “I work with paper that is overlayed with clear glass and then I grout it and use other media like metals and such. I’ve been doing this for over 30 years.”
Larry and Nancy Witzigreuter of St. Charles said they have come to the festival before.
“This piece I’m wearing is from one of the artists that’s usually here,” Nancy Witzigreuter said as she showed off a necklace she was wearing. “She does jewelry and it’s really why we’re here. We’re going to visit her again.”
Alex Schuster of St. Charles likewise said she has come to the show before and wanted to return “because I love seeing all the talent that comes and I love seeing people’s hard work on display and looking at pretty things.”
“I’m not looking for anything in particular but if I find something that I like that’ll be pretty cool,” Schuster said. “If there something I like and it’s not too expensive – it’s going home. I’ve bought jewelry and prints before and whatever I find that I want to drag home.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
