Want to go?
WHAT: Lakeside Wooden Boat Show & Plein Air Art Festival
WHEN: Friday-Sunday, July 20-22
WHERE:Lakeside, 236 Walnut Avenue, Lakeside
COST: Lakeside Gate Pass and Parking
INFO: 419-798-4461
The 9th Annual Lakeside Plein Air Art Festival and Wooden Boat Show is a weekend full of beauty. The art festival, which gets its name from the French term “en plein air,” meaning painting “in the open air” is a chance for art lovers to watch over 30 midwest artists painting beautiful scenes of the Lakeside area.
This Friday to Sunday, artists will be enjoying the outdoors while showing off their talents. Painters will be out and about in Lakeside creating art all weekend from dawn until dusk. According to Alexandrea Kontos, Lakeside director of marketing, when and where painters will be out is all dependent on the weather, the light and each individual painter’s style. So while it may be overcast one day, and you might think, "it’s too gloomy, none of the painters will be out now," there might be a painter out who loves that gloomy feel.
If you want a sure thing in terms of seeing some artists at work, however, Kontos suggested Sunday as the day to visit.
"Most of the painting happens on Sunday," Kontos said.
Some of this Sunday painting will be happening from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Plein Air Paintout. During this time, artists will be painting in and around the more populated areas of Lakeside, such as the pedestrian walkway of Walnut Avenue, between Second and Third Streets, the pavilion lawn and so on.
Also on Sunday, kids will be able to join the artists in their painting. From 1 to 3 p.m., kids will be able to paint on the Pavilion lawn for a fee of $2. Children will be given a piece of paper, an easel and painting supplies to create their own en plein air masterpiece.
After the official painting has wrapped up at 3 p.m. on Sunday, there will be a wet paint sale on the Pavilion lawn from 3 to 5 p.m. A wet paint sale is exactly what it sounds like — the paint of the artwork being sold is literally still wet. The art sold during this event will all be pieces that were painted during the weekend.
The wet paint sale won’t be the only opportunity to purchase artwork, though. Guests will also be able to purchase artwork by the visiting artists on Friday and Saturday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Open Air Gallery inside Hoover Auditorium.
Sunday is also the day the wooden boats make their way to Lakeside. Guests can stop by the dock and the lawn of Hotel Lakeside to enjoy the Wooden Boat show. From 12 to 5 p.m. peruse over 40 wooden boats categorized as either historic (prior to 1918), antique (1919-1942), classic (1943-1975), early contemporary (1976-1984) or late contemporary (past 25 years).
If you’re wondering about where to eat, there will be food vendors at Central Park during the boat show, offering a picnic-esque food experience. Kontos also suggested stopping by the Hotel Lakeside Cafe for their weekly Sunday brunch. The brunch happens from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and has a great view of the boat show. To find out the brunch menu or make reservations, call 419-798-4461 (ext. 257).
Wally and the Beavs will also be at the pavilion from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. performing covers of songs by bands such as Steely Dan, Chicago, The Beatles and more.
Kontos says that this is a Lakeside event you won’t want to miss.
"It is one of our most popular weekends of the summer," she said.
As always, while the Lakeside Wooden Boat Show & Plein Air Art Festival is a free event, guests are required to pay Lakeside’s Daily Gate Pass admission fee. Daily Gate Passes are priced at $18.50 for adults, $12.75 for youth ages 12-18, free for children under age 12 and guests over age 90 and are valid from the time they are purchased until 7 p.m. the following day. Partial Day Passes are also available for up to three hours at a cost of $5.75 per person. There is also a daily auto fee of $7.75 to park on the Lakeside grounds or at the South Gate parking lot.
If you’re not sure how long your stay will be, we suggest buying a partial day pass when you enter. If your visit lasts more than three hours you can just pay the difference for a daily pass, but if you are there for under three hours then there’s no money wasted. Another little money saving tip: there is limited free parking at Danbury High School, but don’t forget to register your vehicle at the Hoover Auditorium Ticket Office.
