From a Downtown Davidson Inc. press release

Art on the Green, a festival of artist’s exhibits, demonstrations, food and live music, returns to the Village Green next month as part of the region’s April is for Arts celebration. The free festival, a project of Downtown Davidson Inc., runs Saturday, April 19, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, April 20, from noon to 5 p.m.

Artists were selected this year by juror Ce Scott, Director of Residencies and Exhibitions for the McColl Center for Visual Arts in Charlotte. Downtown Davidson officials said it asked Ms. Scott to review applications to ensure that works for sale during the festival are “of the highest quality.”

“Downtown Davidson Inc. and the Arts and Science Council are very excited about this year’s Art on the Green. This is the third year for Art on the Green, and the festival gets bigger and better with each passing year,” said Margaret Martens, who is coordinating the event for Downtown Davidson Inc. “With the help of the Cultural Project Grant money from the Arts and Science Council and the participation of local sponsors, including WDAV, Saussy Burbank, Ryan Homes, Knox Realty, The Wooden Stone, Davidson College Friends of the Arts, and People’s Bank, we have taken this from a one day show of local talent to a weekend long event, featuring regional and local artists as well as great live music and food.”

MUSIC SCHEDULE

A variety of music will be offered during the weekend. On Saturday, singer/songwriters Kate Minogue and Kelley Gardner combine their voices in a duo full of heart. Their distinctive harmony and finger-style guitar playing are featured in original songs as well as those of other folk artists.

Also Saturday, Billy Jones will be playing with his trio. Billy Jones has been making his way across the Carolinas with a six-string and a suitcase full of well-crafted tunes for the better part of the last decade. Equal parts folk and rhythem and blues, his songs paint streetscapes of downtown Americana and offer reflections of a journey well-traveled.

Off Main Jazz Quintet will round out the day on Saturday. The Quintet of Davidson College students plays jazz standards, jazz arrangements of contemporary popular music, and original compositions.

Kate Minogue and Kelley Gardner and Billy Jones all return. And to top off the festival, the Merrows Celtic band will perform. The band, a blend of Celtic and folk rock, consists of guitar, vocals, fiddle and djembe. This popular band plays many venues in the Charlotte area.

FOOD, TOO

A wide range of food choices from area restaurants and schools will be available to visitors as they stroll through the artists’ booths or listen to music. Artists from the Creative Art Exchange and the juried show will be on hand demonstrating their work.

PRESENTING ARTISTS

The 2008 Art on the Green artists are:

Ceramics: Cathy Walling, Suzie Council, Darla Hudson,
Robin Briggs, Marilyn McGowan, Cindy Brown, Karla Chambers, Julie Wiggins

Pastels : Bill Gramley

Jewelry: Nancy Snyder, Patricia VanHeyniger, Bonnie Boardman, Louise Mohamed, Mary Alice Mitchell

Woodturning: David Kaylor, Richard Siegal, James M. Moore, Jim Miles

Photography: Ying Molander, David Boraks, Jamie Azevedo, Jill Davis

Glass: Roni & Michael Ziegler

Watercolor: Susan Crouch, Sergey Zhiboedov, Jane Ellithorpe

Paper : Jennifer Jarrett, Belinda Armstrong

Printmaking: Natalia Moroz

This project was made possible, in part, through a Cultural Project Grant from the Arts & Science Council and the Grassroots Program of the North Carolina Arts Council (a state agency).

More information is available on the Downtown Davidson Inc. website, http://www.downtowndavidson.org