Everything to know about the Lewiston Art Festival

Showcase of splendor: Lewiston Art Festival returns to Center Street

√ Annual event is Aug. 10-11

Submitted by the Lewiston Council on the Arts 

It’s time once again for the Lewiston Art Festival, our annual celebration of the creative spark that lives in all of us! On Saturday, Aug. 10 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.), and Sunday, Aug. 11 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.), the Lewiston Council on the Arts will showcase the work of more than 200 artists, musicians, performers and concessionaires who come from near and far to be a part of this annual festival of imagination and skill.

“We at the LCA are excited to bring our signature event back to Center Street, and we acknowledge with gratitude the continuing support of our elected officials from all levels of government,” Lewiston Council on the Arts Executive Director Maria Fortuna Dean said. “The ongoing investment in the arts from the boards of the Village of Lewiston and the Town of Lewiston, as well as the Niagara County Legislature, recognizes the far-reaching impact of a vibrant arts sector. Lewiston's artistic profile stimulates our business growth, attracts tourism and creates a community where people love to live.

“We are very excited to welcome back the 58th annual Lewiston Art Festival,” Village of Lewiston Mayor Anne Welch said. “Lewiston has never looked better, and people are ready to stroll down Center Street and enjoy the many artists and their works. I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the Lewiston Council on the Arts for their service, dedication and hard work in making the Art Festival one of our best festivals!”

Since 1968, the Art Festival has nurtured Lewiston’s identity throughout the region as a home to artists and art-lovers alike, and showcases our community to tens of thousands of visitors.

“The Lewiston Art Festival is an extremely important part of the Lewiston community and presents a weekend that people look forward to every year,” Town of Lewiston Supervisor Steve Broderick said. “One of the more frequent questions I get from people outside our immediate area is, 'When is the Lewiston Art Festival?’ Absolutely one of my favorite events of the year.”

The pedestrian-friendly layout will close Center Street to cars from Fourth to Eighth streets over the weekend, and fill the village roadway with art and music.

Laurissa Widrick and the 2024 Lewiston Art Festival design.

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Featured artist

The 2024 Lewiston Art Festival featured artist is Laurissa Widrick.

Widrick said she finds “endless inspiration” in nature. The Watertown native attended Houghton College and studied graphic design, photography and digital art – but it is old-school printmaking that speaks most deeply to her.

“For me, the process of printmaking is like a meditation,” said Widrick, who moved to Buffalo in 2018.

Each artwork starts with a paper sketch, which is then transferred to a linoleum block. Widrick then carves out the reverse image – all the parts that aren’t black. She mixes the paint colors on glass and, with a brayer, rolls a thin layer of ink on the block. Finally, she lays paper over a linoleum block and presses to make the print.

“It is so satisfying to watch it slowly form through each step,” Widrick said.

Lewiston Council on the Arts Executive Director Maria Fortuna Dean said, “We are excited to introduce this talented young artist to the whole Western New York community. Laura’s piece for the 2024 Art Festival, ‘To Have,’ calls to mind both Mother Nature and our duty of stewardship of the earth and all its abundant gifts.”

So much to see and do

The Grant Asklar Quartet will be performing at South Seventh Street, near Orange Cat Coffee Co. from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, from 1-3 p.m., the Barroom Buzzards will stroll the festival, playing their mix of New Orleans and Dixieland jazz, swing and blues. Visiting from Torrington, Connecticut, St. Peter’s Drum Corps will treat us to a parade and marching band concert starting at 2 p.m. Sunday.

At 1 p.m. Saturday, make sure you find yourself at Sixth and Center streets when Cirque Kickasse, sponsored by Artpark & Company, serves up amazing acrobatics from their Not-Necessarily-A-Food-Truck truck!

In keeping with our commitment to fostering the development of young artists, College Alley, located in the KeyBank parking lot, will again feature the work of high school and college students. Student artists have the opportunity to gain exhibiting experience without adhering to the more-stringent requirements for professional artists. Don’t miss this chance to start collecting the work of these emerging artists!

The Lewiston Art Festival returns to Center Street Aug. 10-11. (Photos by Chelsea Modern Images // courtesy of the Lewiston Council on the Arts)

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This year’s Chalk Walk theme is “Cosmic Creations” and we will have 15 teams of all ages, with prize categories for youth artists, emerging artists, high school, and advanced artist (individuals 18 years or older). We are grateful to our sponsors First Presbyterian Church, KeyBank and Mount St. Mary’s, whose support makes it possible for this to be a true community event. Be sure to grab a piece of chalk and add your special touch to our “Cosmic Creations” group street mural!

For participating festival artists, Modern Corporation generously sponsors the “Modern Art Awards” given in six categories: painting; mixed media; graphic arts / photography; artistic crafts I: jewelry; artistic crafts II: ceramic, glass, metal; artistic crafts III: wood, leather, fiber. Each category will award first-, second- and third-place prizes. Best in show and best booth will also be awarded.

This year’s “Indigenous Experience,” sponsored by Sevenson Environmental Services, offers a full schedule of Indigenous music, dancing, presentations and children’s activities curated by Kehala Greene Smith (Tuscarora Nation) and hosted by Jordan Smith (Mohawk Nation). Please see the schedule and visit the Indigenous artisans at the gazebo to experience the rich traditional and contemporary culture of our Haudenosaunee friends and neighbors.

Honoring the traditions of our Haudenosaunee neighbors, Jordan Smith will open each day of the festival with “The Words Before All Else,” a thanksgiving address in his native tongue, at 10 a.m. at the gazebo.

The Trail of Treaties & Treaty Loom Project, sponsored by Artpark and curated by Artpark's Indigenous producer, Michele-Elise Burnett and professor Richard Hamell, is an immersive and engaging audio/visual journey through six significant wampum belts that have shaped the lands you walk on today. As you travel the Trail of Treaties, discover each treaty through the Indigenous lens with interpretive descriptions and narrations by Dr. Joe Stahlman of the Tuscarora Nation. We encourage you to listen via QR code and read about each of the six wampum belts.

Don't forget to stamp your commemorative Trail of Treaties passport booklet at each station. Once completed, visit Hamell and the team at the gazebo to have your questions about the treaties answered, discover one of the largest wampum displays in the U.S., and learn how to make a wampum bead using traditional tools.

New this year, all are invited to participate in weaving the Treaty Commitment and Intentions Loom. Together, we can build a stronger cross-cultural future for the next seven generations.

There’s plenty of interactive fun for all ages at the Art Festival this year. Get a henna tattoo (near the clock at North Fifth Street), or have your face painted or a caricature done (corner of Center and South Seventh streets). There will be two free, hands-on Kids Art Zones along the street:

•At ArtZone No. 1, by St. Peter’s rectory, the Lewiston Public Library will sponsor activities from noon to 4 p.m. on both days for children of all ages.

•ArtZone No. 2, in booth 730 (across from Tim Hortons), will bring Artpark’s free family activities to the Art Festival on Saturday, and feature artmaking by the Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University on Sunday. Hours are noon to 4 p.m. each day. 

Come visit the wonderful Lewiston Council on the Arts volunteers at the information booth at Fifth and Center to pick up this year’s Art Festival T-shirt and merch. The 2024 image was created by featured artist Laurissa Widrick. Her linocut, “To Have,” features mountains, trees, sun and a river, all cradled gently in the palm of a hand, and calls to mind Mother Nature and our connection to the living Earth. Stop by and meet Laurissa at booth 716, in front of the Rite Aid plaza.

For the safety and comfort of our two- and four-legged friends, we strongly discourage bringing non-service dogs to the festival. If it’s too hot for your bare feet, it’s too hot for their bare paws!

'Right here in Lewiston'

Upward Niagara Chamber of Commerce President Jennifer Pauly said, “The Lewiston Art Festival has been a visitor and local resident favorite event for over half a decade! The festival has grown over the years to include a wide variety of entertainers, artists and more. We are so lucky to have a juried show like this featuring artists from all over the world right here in Lewiston, New York!

“August is always my favorite month of the summer with the Lewiston Art Festival followed by the Jazz Festival two weeks later. These two festivals bring tens of thousands of people to the village and contribute to a positive economic impact that is needed among our small businesses.”

Sponsors

Art Festival sponsors include the Town of Lewiston, Village of Lewiston, Niagara County Legislature, Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, Modern Corporation, Sevenson Environmental Services, and AMD Environmental Consultants Inc. Chalk Art sponsors include KeyBank, Mount St. Mary’s Hospital and First Presbyterian Church. We are grateful to Tin Pan Alley for providing a delicious sit-down breakfast for the artists!

For more information, visit www.artcouncil.org.

Lewiston Council on the Arts Executive Director Maria Fortuna Dean is shown with Art Festival sponsors the Village of Lewiston Board of Trustees, the Town of Lewiston Council and Niagara County Legislature Chairwoman Becky Wydysh. (Photos by Chelsea Modern Images)

This year’s Chalk Walk sponsors include CJ Urlaub of Mount St. Mary's Hospital, LCA board member Cindy Sanchez, the Rev. Catherine Rieley-Goddard of First Presbyterian Church of Lewiston, Kyle Heath and Chiwuike Owunwanne of KeyBank, LCA volunteer Kristen Raimondi, and Girl Scout Troop 70228. (Submitted photo)