HomeArtArt Galleries › Tempe Festival of the Arts Celebrates its 50th Anniversary in Downtown Tempe
 
 
 

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Get out and explore the 50th Annual Tempe Festival of the Arts November 29 through December 2, 2018 in beautiful downtown Tempe. The festive outdoor event boasts a vibrant atmosphere with artists’ booths and tents, strolling street performers, musicians, and food and drink vendors. This is a FREE, three-day family friendly event that is open daily from 10:00am until 5:30pm.

 

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Since its inception this award-winning and nationally-acclaimed Fall Tempe Festival of the Arts has consistently been ranked in the Top 100 Classic & Contemporary Craft Shows in the nation and draws upwards of nearly 225,000 visitors! The Festival features a diverse array of artists working in 16 different visual arts categories including ceramics, jewelry, photography, wearable art, and wood. With up to as many as 350 booths selected by jury, filled with unique, and hand-made artwork that offer visitors a wonderful opportunity to meet the artists and shop an eclectic collection of works.

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Visitors will enjoy live entertainment and dozens of roaming street performers including dance troupes, a unicyclist, balloon art, break dancing with PWR Dance Team and a Bluegrass Camp with Jam Pak. The Centerpoint and Hayden Station stages will showcase Walt Richardson, Hyperbella, Sugahbeat and The Hourglass Cats, AZ School of Hip Hop Phx, Hi Dreams, Stoneypie, Korbe Canida, Chad Gregory, Whitney Jones, El Klezmer, along with other local and regional talent.

Foodies be sure to check out Cottage Edibles and Crafts which boasts an expansive variety of snacks and housewares along with the “Food Court” An assortment of fair food and street eats will be on hand including BBQ, concessions, noodles, samosas and more, plus a variety of Food Trucks like Beaver Choice European & Canadian Street Food, The Maine Lobster Lady, Yellowman Fry Bread, Churro GoNutz, Eureka Old Fashioned Soda, Pinnacle Peak Pie Company, Pura Vida Grinds, San Francisco Chocolate Factory, Dough Licious Desserts, Hot Cookie Truck, and Waffle Crush. 

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This year the festival features two beer and wine gardens featuring locally-brewed Arizona beers from Tempe’s own, award-wining Pedal Haus Brewery and Four Peaks Brewing Company, as well as selections from Arizona-based wineries and distilleries such as Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Page Springs Cellars, Pillsbury Wine Company and ten others available within the ticketed Arizona Wine & Spirit Tasting areas at Centerpoint and Maple Avenue.

Kids Block is a hands-on interactive block for young artists and a youth exhibition featuring 300+ student works from around the Valley on display and for sale. Also featured is a spectacular array of K-12 art in the Young Artist Exhibition and Competition, and new this year is the Young Collectors program, wherein a child can begin their art collecting journey by purchasing their very own piece of art handcrafted by one of the professional artists vending at the festival for just $5.00, fostering a lifetime appreciation for the arts. 

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Another family favorite is Chalk-A-Lot Street, with a specially curated chalk section that allows professional chalk muralists to compete for awards, as well as festival goers to experiment with street chalk. Fourteen professional chalk artists from around the country will magically transform the terra firma of Tempe into an eye-catching and mind-blowing temporary trompe l’oeil for the amazement of spectators at this section.

On Saturday, December 1st at 3pm Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell and the founding event producers will make an official proclamation honoring the festival (located near the intersection of 5th Street and Mill Avenue).The public is also invited to join local artist Kylan Maney to create a commemorative art piece for the Festival's 50th anniversary. Enjoy art, music, and get your holiday shopping done early at the Tempe Festival for the Arts!

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For complete details about this year's Tempe Festival of the Arts visit them online at http://www.tempefestivalofthearts.com/ and don’t forget to share your photos throughout the festival! *All images courtesy and copyright of Tempe Festival of the Arts.