By Kathleen Hughes
You wait for it. You anticipate it. THIS is definitely the place to be! La Quinta Arts Festival, ranked #1 Fine Art Festival the Nation for three consecutive years, is slated Thursday through Sunday, March 5 – 8, 2015 from 10 am to 5 pm at La Quinta Civic Center Campus.
You don’t have to be an art expert to know what you like, and you are sure to find it at La Quinta Arts Festival, where 220 contemporary artists converge from 38 states, Canada, Israel and Nicaragua in every fine art and craft media category. An unprecedented 36 of these exhibitors are NEW to this event, 16 of whom applied for the very first time. This is a clear indicator that because of its premier status, La Quinta Arts Festival has again raised the bar in attracting a new field of artists whose level of artistic excellence is even higher to those in past years.
Making his triumphant return to La Quinta Arts Festival this year is one of its most popular “Super Stars,” Master Glass Artist Randy Strong. Strong is one of the original pioneers of the American Studio Glass movement. He was the Featured Artist, Civic Purchase and Best in Category award winner at the 2012 La Quinta Arts Festival. Randy’s glass was so sought after at that show that he indefinitely delayed his impending retirement to create a whole new line of hand blown art glass.
Here are the four La Quinta Arts Festival 2015 Featured Artists:
Guilloume, Painting/Sculpture (Sandia Park, NM) – Booth #501. Colombian-born Guilloume was chosen as the 2015 Poster Artist for his original painting entitled “In Prayer.” Regarded as one of the foremost artists in the Southwest he self describes his work as “magical surrealism” in which he combines the figure with surrealist abstraction to create his personal “bolismo” style. Guilloume’s bronze and stone creations have been singled out by Sculpture Magazine to place him among the 10 most important sculptors of our day.
Lorra Lee Rose, Mixed Media (Pine Grove, CA) – Booth #308. Lorra Lee’s flamboyant “Mambo” feather sculpture is one of the primary images for the 2015 marketing campaign. Rose creates visually stunning artworks with the nontraditional medium of feathers that have gained her a worldwide reputation. Her spectacular feather masks and amazing life size human figures are completely detailed in natural color feathers. Lorra Lee is a La Quinta Arts Festival 2014 Award Winner for Best of Category.
Stan O’Neil, Glass (Sedro Wooley, WA) – Booth #329. Stan’s exquisite glass sculpture “Snowbird” was chosen as the design image for the men’s t-shirt as a tribute to our large contingent of Coachella Valley Snowbirds.
Kay Cummins, Jewelry (Phoenix, AZ) – Booth #100. A piece from Kay’s 2nd Chance “Tweet” Collection was selected as the adorable image for the women’s t-shirt embroidery design and other retail items.
Come for the Art – Stay for the Entertainment! La Quinta Arts Festival is a total sensory experience and just as you will see every art medium imaginable, you will delight in the variety of music entertainment too! This year’s lineup is takes you on a trip around the world starting with smooth flamenco guitar stylings of Milton Merlos, meditative Bolivian Pan Pipes by master Oscar Reynolds, and favorites Jerry Evaro and Friends will have you swinging and singing. For those classically inclined, a new alliance with CV organization OperaArts brings Operetta and Broadway from some amazing talent. Just when you thought your entertainment journey was over, make one last stop on Sunday from 2pm to 5pm to salsa, merengue and cha-cha to the Louie Cruz Beltran Latin jazz band.
Festival goers will enjoy great cuisine and beverage selections on Restaurant Row featuring Fisherman’s Market & Grill and West Coast Hofbrau, plus lighter fare and libations at the Island Bar. Try the Oasis Lounge catered by Shanghai Red’s for Asian specialties in the NE corner. The Chocolate Bar by Brandini Toffee will have two locations this year: at the Meadow Bar and in Restaurant Row. “Make it a Mimosa Morning” as all bars will be serving Mimosas and Peach Bellinis, as well as wine, beer and refreshing soft drinks.
Tickets may be purchased at the gate or in advance at www.LQAF.com. Please see our ad for prices and directions. No pets allowed with the exception of service animals. La Quinta Arts Festival is presented by La Quinta Arts Foundation in partnership with Premier Sponsor The City of La Quinta.
