This year’s Glencoe Festival of Art broke attendance records with banner weekend weather prevailing over downtown Glencoe.
The 14th annual event, produced by Amdur Productions of Highland Park, opened on Saturday, July 22 and continued through Sunday.
The festival covered Glencoe’s downtown area to the west of the Metra train tracks and featured 125 artists who showed their artwork including paintings, sculpture, ceramics, glass, jewelry, wearables, furniture and more.
Newly added to the festival this year was the Kid Zone, a popular booth amenity where children could make sand art and other crafting activities to learn more about the art making process.
There were other family and dog friendly amenities also lining busy midways including face painting, Kids Art Stops, Art Demo Stops, live painting classes and Amdur’s Green Ribbon Project with proceeds benefiting 2023 charitable partner, the Chicago Furniture Bank. There were also artist demonstrations, live music and selfie stations.
“I think that people are really enjoying themselves in downtown Glencoe,” calling this year’s weekend, “a record breaker crowd for this show,” said Amy Amdur of Highland Park, president of Amdur Productions, a fine arts festival company which she founded in 1984. “I think it’s a combination of the weather and people just wanting to enjoy life again. People are looking for things to do as a family.”
The COVID-19 pandemic years halted many events such as art festivals.
“The quality of the art has never been higher,” Amdur said. “And I think that’s due to the support that the public, the community gives to artists. Not only do they come to the show but they buy art here in Glencoe.”
Amdur said, adding, “Art fills the soul.”
More Top Picks Best Amazon Prime Day Magna Tiles Deals 2026
Amdur stopped by the booth of artist and watercolorist Gwendolyn E. Redfern of Raleigh, North Carolina who had a work prominently displayed featuring a butterfly which, “symbolizes rebirth,” said Amdur, who happened to be wearing jewelry with butterflies featured.
Redfern’s watercolor piece, titled “The Life,” was on sale for $4,250.
“A lot of people are really into the butterflies,” Redfern said in agreement with Amdur about the rejuvenation symbolization butterflies. “It’s full of life, it’s full of color. It’s soothing.”
Ryan Roessler, a photo-based artist from Highland Park also participated.
“After working as a commercial photographer for over 35 years, my personal work has grown into a surreal photo-based hybrid of painting,” Roessler said. “I like asking the visual question, what is real and what is unreal, like in this piece, ‘In her mind’s eye,’ which invites the viewer into silent contemplation.”
Patron Mindy Richtiger of Niles visited the wearable art booth of Isabelle Gougenheim of Logan Square. Colors are important to Richtiger.
People need color in their lives, “especially now — just to brighten up your life,” Richtiger said
Richtiger said this was the third time visiting the Glencoe Festival of Art.
“I love it, I love the setting and I love the art,” she said.
While Richtiger tried on a wearable art jacket, Gougenheim watched on saying, “She’s been smiling the whole time, so I think that makes her happy, it’s good.”
Jerry Bergin from Edmund, Oklahoma participated in the Glencoe festival for the second year in a row and says his mixed-media abstract work brings together a unique blend of professional use plastic, inks and glazes with metal powders creating a chemical reaction that combines chemistry and art.
“Metropolitan audiences generally take an avid interest in my work and Glencoe seems to be a perfect fit for me,” Bergin said.
The Groover family of Glencoe visited the show on Saturday morning. Parents Pierce and Jessica Groover brought their children William, 7, a rising second-grader and Lexi, 5, a rising kindergartner.
“It’s great to have events like this, I think more reason to come to downtown Glencoe is always a win,” Pierce Groover said.
Jessica Groover said about the art festival, “It’s great, you can see a little bit of the art for adults but there’s something for the kids here.”
Nathan and Kristine Clark of Northbrook attended with their children Eleanor, 4, and Bennett, 2.
“We love art fairs and this is our favorite one,” Nathan Clark said.
“We’re having a great time,” Kristine Clark said.
Am Shalom of Glencoe Senior Rabbi Steven Stark Lowenstein was among visitors on Saturday.
“Glencoe’s a welcoming place and this (art festival) is a great illustration of how we can come together and support the arts and support these amazing artists,” Lowenstein said.
Lowenstein said it is important to, “find beauty in the world.
“Art reminds us of just how beautiful the world that God created is,” Lowenstein said. “It just makes our community so much stronger and so much better.”
Attendees were invited to bring gently used art to the festival to be donated to the Chicago Furniture Bank, a nonprofit that distributes furnishings and art to those leaving shelters and moving into permanent housing.
Several artists from this show participated in Amdur Productions’ Green Ribbon Project. Artists place a green ribbon on a piece of art in their booth, and if the piece is sold, 10% of the sale is donated to the Chicago Furniture Bank.
See the rest of the Amdur art festival schedule at www.AmdurProductions.com
More Top Picks Best Single Stage Snow Blowers
.