Making a Festive Impact With Art

BY LIBBY WILLIAMS

Our biannual event, Art on the Green, is a day when north Georgia artists gather to display their creations — from paintings to clothes and beyond. What started off as a small gathering has blossomed into a twoday event, this year spanning the Event Green and the backyard of the Reeves House, May 13-14. After noting this growth last year, we asked, “What’s next?”

In December 2022, we branched out and held the Christkindl Market. If you missed out, there was hot chocolate, cookie decorating, holiday movies and local small businesses selling perfect gifts for the season. Seeing the community come together and support entrepreneurs while shopping locally was really moving. Again, we found ourselves asking a question, “How can we make this bigger and grow the impact?”

Shopping locally is something we wanted to continue to celebrate. When you shop locally, you are investing in your own community and helping it grow. You also are creating an environment where businesses can thrive and new businesses can start. This helps create a more vibrant and diverse economy, which benefits everyone in the area. So, what is the next step? How can we grow the concept of shopping locally and celebrating artists?

At Woodstock Arts, we are extremely excited to announce a Festival Series on the Event Green. The series, inspired by the success of Art on the Green, will offer a platform to celebrate different parts of our community. This season, our Festival Series will feature a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Festival, the return of our Christkindl Market, as well as Holi and Juneteenth next year. As the planning begins, we are establishing committees of local community members, who will raise their voices and help us celebrate. Impacting the community with art experiences every day is our goal. As we continue to grow and explore new ways to engage with all of our community, we hope you will add these events to your calendar. Your first chance to join us will be for Art on the Green this month. (Watch for more festival dates.) Come by, support local artists and explore what your neighbors are up to.