Boulder City festival features artwork in variety of mediums

More than 130 artists are expected to participate in the Boulder City Fine Arts Festival this weekend.

The festival, in its 24th year, will be at Bicentennial Park, 401 California Ave. in Boulder City, and organizers expect to draw about 15,000 visitors over two days.

Visitors can buy works of fine art in a variety of mediums, including watercolors, acrylics, rope, clay and more. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Boulder City Art Guild, which awards annual scholarships to students from Southern Nevada, says guild spokesman Darrell McGarvey.

When the festival first started in 1985, it was called the Clark County Artist's Show and included only artists from the area. In 2001, the name was changed to Boulder City Fine Arts Festival and it was opened to artists from seven states served by the Colorado River: Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, California and New Mexico, McGarvey says.

The festival is juried, with artists submitting examples of their work and judges selecting participants, McGarvey says. No crafts are on display although artists who make pottery, baskets, ceramics, wood sculptures and other materials will be on hand. The difference between crafts and fine art, in this case, is that all pieces are one of a kind, he adds. Some artists will be demonstrating their work, too.

Food vendors will be on hand but for the first time in festival history, there will be no entertainment. In the past, the Henderson City Orchestra performed but this year, the guild couldn't afford the fee, McGarvey says.

Raffle drawings are scheduled for prizes such as dinners, show tickets and art.

The festival serves as the guild's sole fundraiser, McGarvey says. Seven $1,000 scholarships are awarded by the guild each year; six to college students and a seventh to the ABC Art Center in Boulder City. That money is awarded to people who want to take a class at the community center but can't afford it, McGarvey says.

The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit bcfineartsfestival.com.

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@review journal.com or 702-380-4564.