By Barbara Arnstein
The Allentown Art Festival is an incredible showcase for artists and a very entertaining and popular annual event in Buffalo, NY. Local artists, and national artists gather to display and sell their fine art photography, paintings and jewelry; clay, glass and mixed media works; creative crafts and more. There are interactive exhibits (more than before), music everywhere and food trucks. The festival, now celebrating its 66th year, will take place on Saturday, June 10th and Sunday, June 11th, from 11am-6pm, in the Allentown district of Buffalo, NY.
This year the interactive exhibits are connected with the CEPA Gallery. Visitors will be able to learn about photography and how to develop photographs in a darkroom. The Birchfield Penney Museum is bringing a children’s mobile art unit to the show, and the Corning Glass Museum will be bringing glass from its exhibits.
“We have partnered with the Hunt Gallery to present emerging artists”, said Rita Harrington-Lippman, President of the Allentown Art Festival. “They will be at the show to exhibit their work and meet the public. Buffalo Public School art students will be displaying their works, thanks to a grant provided by the Allentown Art Festival. We are very excited about the show this year. ”
One well-known fine art photographer, who will be at the festival, David Lawrence Reade, has had his quality work selected for the juried show every year since 1997 (except for 2020 and 2021, when it was cancelled due to Covid). He displays his photos of Buffalo and the surrounding areas, state and local parks, and beyond. They are featured in three books: “Western New York Wild”, “The Four Seasons of Letchworth” and “Beyond Buffalo”. One of his best-selling photos, which will be available at the festival, is a black and white infrared giclee, depicting the Buffalo skyline from a unique perspective: a boat on Lake Erie. “Some of the other photos I’ll be bringing to the festival feature the beauty of Spring in Buffalo’s Forest Lawn cemetery, and spectacular sunsets and sunrises.”, he said. “To capture one of my best-selling sunrises, ‘New Day Born’, I climbed Noonmark Mountain in the Adirondacks, in the dark, by headlamp. I’ve taken numerous sunsets along the shoreline of Lake Erie.”
“My very popular ‘Splash of Color’ series features black and white backgrounds, with the main features in each one, such as Fall foliage or red canoes, in full color”, he continued. His booth at the festival this year will be #77-79, on Delaware Avenue, about midway between Allen and North Streets. His art and books will both be available there, and are available at davidlawrencereade.com. For more information about the festival, go to allentownartfestival.com