The 48th Annual Outdoor Art Festival in Wickford, Rhode Island

The Annual Outdoor Wickford Art Festival, scheduled for the weekend of July 10^th & 11^th, 2010, is now in its 48^th year. This festival is the oldest continuously running outdoor art show in the country. Following a long honored tradition, the festival is held the weekend following the Fourth of July holiday.

Planning begins for the next art festival nearly as soon as the current one is over, with preparations reaching a fever pitch during the week prior to the event. Business is conducted as usual in downtown Wickford, but signs begin to appear stating "No Parking Here per order of NK Police Dept."; "Open during the Art Festival" or "Closed for business Saturday and Sunday"; and so forth. Staff from the North Kingstown Arts Council, which sponsors the entire event, can be seen going around with clipboards, measuring tapes, chalk, masking tape, and more so they can carefully divide both sides of Brown Street, Main Street, and the surrounding areas where more sections can be fit. For maps of the scheduled displays and booth assignment locations, Click here to access Brown Street's, and here for Main Street's. These maps also show the locations of concession stands selling food and drinks, local businesses, prominent bodies of water, and the rows of Porta-Johns in the large public parking lot on Brown Street. So, even if you are not interested in finding out where a particular booth will be located, there is plenty of useful information on these maps for all visitors.

As a resident of the area for almost ten years now, I always feel a strange sensation in the air around downtown Wickford during the week or so before the Art Festival-rather like the calm before a big storm that is expected to hit the village. Things begin to get more urgent as the Big Weekend approaches. It becomes more apparent that something is about to take place once I see the white booths/tents appear on either side of the road as I go about my day to day routine in downtown Wickford; this normally happens throughout the day on Friday. Many of the artists set up their works and displays that night; the remainder of them set up early Saturday morning. Officially, the Art Festival starts at 10 a.m., but there are always some early birds who like to walk around and browse while it is still peaceful and quiet. The downtown area tends to get very crowded around lunch time-fortunately, the areas is closed to all but absolutely essential traffic by the North Kingstown Police Department, who always is on hand for help and crowd control, and maintain a kind of headquarters station in the public parking lot on Brown Street for any problems that may arise.

If you are planning to attend the Art Festival and will be there during lunch time, one of the best deals in town can be found at the First Baptist Church on Main Street, about halfway down and on the left hand side if you are moving towards the water, away from the middle of town. Utilizing their giant parking lot and their extensive acreage, the First Baptist Church has been involved in the Art Festival for what is going to be its 41^st year. Picnic tables are invitingly arranged underneath shady trees on the grassy lawn, where people can dine outdoors on grilled hamburgers, cheeseburgers, or hotdogs; clam cakes and clam chowder; and, of course, strawberry shortcake; and wash everything down with a nice, cold drink. One of the most attractive features of FBC's annual Art Festival ministry is that customers aren't forced to attempt to get something to eat in one of the local restaurants, which do have excellent food, but they can't handle the volume of people that the Festival tends to draw. Another attractive feature, and one that keeps people returning year after year, is FBC's renowned strawberry shortcake, which is home-made and yummy. The biscuits are made right there in the church kitchen, which is why they tend to have all different kinds of lumps and bumps, or are different shades of golden brown. They are more or less round, but one can tell they are not made by a machine. The whipped cream is actual cream that is poured into a bowl and whipped, not sprayed out of a can.

Full? Well, the Women's Guild of FBC always has several tables arranged on the front lawn of the church, where items such as antiques, dishes, teacups, knitted and crocheted items, crafts, jewelry, and lots more are for sale. There is always a special table for the children, where everything is $1 or less. Additionally, there is Face Painting available for the younger set, which is very popular every year. FBC's own music group, Kyrie Road, plans to hold a concert each afternoon around 2:00 p.m.; it will be later in the day so that the members of the band can help cook and serve the food during the lunch rush. Kyrie Road's concerts will be a mixture of popular older songs and contemporary songs; several that are sure to please the crowd and a few songs especially for the youngsters. FBC will have the sanctuary doors open so people can visit and see the interior, and a few members will be present to greet visitors and answer any questions. The First Baptist Church is a prominent fixture of Main Street and looks just like a postcard of a New England church, with its white exterior and Neo-classical architecture dating from 1816. People often take photographs of the building, and young couples are sometimes so taken with it and the surroundings of Wickford that they elect to get married in the church. For some breathtakingly gorgeous photographs and interesting historical facts, see this page from Histwick, the local historical association.

For the summer of 2010, the First Baptist Church in Wickford is pleased to host the Visiting Nurses of South County Hospital. Nursing staff will be setting up and displaying their information on tables on the front lawn of the church. Their program offers everything from the latest in medical technology to home health care and help with routine, everyday tasks that have become too difficult.

So, as you can tell, there is plenty going on. Now all we need is a good weekend: sunny and warm, but not hot, not humid, and not any rain. Speaking of the sun, be sunsmart and be careful! Use that sunscreen, wear a hat, wear sunglasses, and if you are coming to the Art Festival in 2010, have a great time!