A couple of weeks ago, Chuck and I went to South Carolina to attend an art festival. I learned about ArtFields when I helped a friend move to Lake City in October last year and we decided we should have a peek.

It is phenomenal.

Businesses all over the downtown area host art. You can tell where to go in by a big sticker on the door and another one on the sidewalk in front of that door. There were paintings, sculptures, multimedia installations, textile art and glass. We think there were over 700 individual pieces in the 3 galleries and various stores, salons, bars, and restaurants.

The map thinks we walked a bit over 3 miles on the first day. But, it can’t see how much we wandered around inside everywhere. We were a little concerned that we would be too tired to see the rest of it on the second day. But, we went so slowly that we were fine.

There were volunteers in green shirts all over the place with maps for those that didn’t already have one and advice or extra directions if you needed that. And everybody was friendly and happy to talk about the art. There was absolutely no pressure to shop, too. I think the businesses felt that having people come in and know what was there was enough.

On the first day, we were told by the owner of one store that they got to choose what pieces they showed. So, he had been able to pick out pieces that matched the esthetic of his space and the area he could commit to. The next day, we asked a young woman who was working near the door in one of the salons how they got to choose the pieces in their space. She said you get to sign up for a time when you are available to look what hasn’t already been chosen and pick what you want. She said “This is out first year participating and I’ll know to get in earlier next year. I like what we have. But, there were a couple of pieces I would have liked that someone else beat me to.”

They give 2 People’s Choice prizes in addition to the juried awards. We initially weren’t going to vote because we could not begin to decide on a Best Piece or even a favorite medium. But, one of the volunteers asked if we’d voted for any yet and, when we said that we hadn’t because we couldn’t choose, he assured us we could vote for everything we liked. The awards would simply go to the 2 pieces had the most votes. So, we stopped at the ArtFields Welcome Center on our way back to the car. I registered and was verified immediately. You could not be verified online. Someone had to see you in person to know you had really seen the art. No ballot box stuffing. It was great. You just text a number on the label for each piece and you have done your part.

After it is all over, the pieces that received awards remain in a gallery until the next festival. AND there are murals around town that are remnants from previous years. We are absolutely blown away.

We’ve already committed to making an annual pilgrimage.