Twelve years ago, a mystery man visited the first Alley Art Festival in downtown Aurora and helped set the tone for the years that followed.
“The first year a guy rode through on a unicycle, and that kind of encapsulates the vibe of the festival,” said Marissa Amoni, manager of Aurora Downtown and one of the founders of the festival. “That freedom, that spirit. We didn’t plan that, he just rode through.”
Now, the festival’s new unicycle logo pays homage to its beginning as the grassroots festival continues to grow. The 12th annual Alley Art Festival will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Aug. 27 at the Water Street Mall, located between Galena Boulevard and Downer Place, in downtown Aurora. Admission is free.
“It’s amazing, a dozen years of celebrating local art,” Amoni said. “We have such amazing artists.”
More than 70 returning and new artists from Aurora, Naperville and the Fox Valley region will offer their works for sale.
“It’s always a great mixture of different kinds of art,” she said.
Among the mediums including are oils, acrylics, comic book art, crochet, sculpture, graphic art, jewelry and quilts. All ages and experience levels participate.
“We have the novice artist up to the professional artist,” Amoni said. “What’s really different about Alley Art Fest is it’s really accessible. It’s not your standard fine art fair. You’re going to see stuff that you can buy and use or you can display in your home. It’s affordable and it’s featuring local artists.”
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It also gives people a chance to meet and get to know the artists.
“You can actually talk to the creators of the work and support them,” Amoni said.
This year the festival will provide more space for artists in addition to Water Street Mall.
“We’re also closing down Downer Place adjacent to Water Street Mall,” Amoni said. “So we’re increasing the footprint of the festival this year.”
Live entertainment includes music by Nick Wiesner at noon; Eastern Fire Belly Dance at 2 p.m., and musicians Mo Pippy + Friends at 3 p.m. at Mundy Park, which is adjacent to Water Street Mall. A children’s area will feature Fox Valley Robotic and also offer hands-on activities by nonprofit The Light of the Heart.
In addition to the art and entertainment, food vendors will be on site, including Home Run Hotdogs, Holy Pierogi, Sno Cone Sisters and Strawberries BBQ.
The event is artist-run, with artists choosing their own locations to set up and donating 10% of their sales to help fund the festival.
Many people make the festival part of a whole day in downtown Aurora, attending the Farmers Market from 8 a.m. to noon across from City Hall, spend time at the festival and then the evening at a restaurant or music venue.
“Downtown Aurora has grown tremendously in the last decade and it’s attributed to our artists and we’re very grateful there’s such an artist community,” Amoni said.
“We’ve had over 46 businesses open in the last decade in downtown Aurora, and a large part of it is the artist community and the push of arts and culture to make our downtown a beautiful, welcoming place. There’s no doubt about it that things like this and ArtBar and First Fridays have impacted our downtown.
“It’s a really great way to support the artist community and support the local artist economy,” she said.
Alley Art Festival
When: Noon-5 p.m. Aug. 27
Where: Water Street Mall, 44 E. Downer Place, Aurora
Tickets: Free admission
Information: alleyartaurora.com
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.