Message from Mayor Richard L. “Ike” Stage

Arts in the Alley – A Fun-Filled Weekend

With the beginning of fall comes cooler temperatures, football and soccer, beautiful color-changing scenery, pumpkinspiced everything, and the Grove City Area Chamber of Commerce Arts in the Alley!

The festival of music and art brings together artisans of every variety, including photographers, sculptors, crafters, quilters and more. Artists compete as their work is displayed throughout Town Center in six different juried show categories, vendors line the streets east of Broadway, selling their wares and Kids’ Fun Street invites budding artists to join in hands-on activities that nurture young, creative minds. Several delicious concessions are available from commercial vendors and charitable organizations taking advantage of the opportunity to raise funds for their causes.

Again this year, the festival includes the Voice of Grove City vocal competition on the main stage where singers showcase their abilities while competing for the title. It’s nice to witness the crowd support the singers as they belt out their tunes. This all proves one thing for certain: Our hometown is teeming with talent, and we enjoy the annual opportunity to share it with all of central Ohio.

In its 43rd year, Arts in the Alley continues to draw thousands of visitors to Grove City, but it’s more than simply a festival of artistic and musical talent. It’s a weekend filled with laughter, friendship and community, a time when we welcome visitors as our own neighbors and enjoy time with family.

The Saturday morning parade down Broadway and onto Columbus Street is one of my favorite traditions. With more than 100 entries, I often have the flexibility to fit in with a participant at the start of the parade then swing back around and join another entry near the end of the parade. Seems silly maybe, but it gives me a chance to say hello to as many of the people watching the parade as I can.

Just as many others do on that Saturday, I’ll stick around Town Center after the parade to watch the Grove City and Central Crossing high school marching bands and choirs perform and take in all the wonderful items vendors are selling. Many of the vendors have been part of Arts in the Alley for years, and I have come to know some on a personal level as a result. It’s like a reunion at times.

I enjoy making my rounds to many of the shows – craft, fine arts, photography, quilt and youth art – to see the entries and cast my People’s Choice vote for each. It’s fun to see which flower-themed pieces of art in each category have been selected by the judges to contend for the Helena McComb Award, an award given by the McComb Family in memory of one of the festival co-founders.

The Easel Award is another competitive show category of great interest to me as the winning piece ultimately becomes part of the city’s collection and will hang in the hallway of City Hall. The independent, impartial judges sure have their work cut out for them in this category where the top prize is a $2,000 purchase award. The entry criteria for the Easel Award have changed this year, no longer limiting subject matter to a Grove City theme. This is likely to draw many more submissions, which this year must depict the artist’s vision of his or her own hometown.

Arts in the Alley fills Grove City with vibrant art and musical talent, a wonderful reminder that the natural color and splendor of fall is just around the corner.

To enter one of the show category competitions or for more information about Arts in the Alley, visit www.gcchamber.org/arts.

Mayor Richard L. “Ike” Stage

Mayor Stage waves to the crowd during the 2021 Arts in the Alley parade.