PARSONS, W.Va. (WBOY) — The ArtSpring Festival, Tucker County’s Annual Celebration of the Arts happened this weekend. The ArtSpring Festival has been around for about 13 years and the idea of the festival is to grow and nurture artist and the arts around Tucker County.
“It’s a big celebration of the arts in the whole county, Parsons, and Thomas, and Davis and Canaan Valley,” Artist and Gallerist Linda Reeves said. “Everything, all kinds of events going on related to the art and music and even drama this year.”
The festival gives local artists a place where they can display and sell their work.
“I’m an Artist Blacksmith, meaning I don’t shoe horses, but I use heat to heat the steel and hammers and other tools, hammers and anvil and other tools to form the metal. I work on a large scale like the gate and fence behind me, but also on a jewelry scale, tiny, tiny work,” Lucas Warner said.
Art wasn’t the only thing the ArtSpring Festival had to offer. There was also live music, a lantern parade, and delicious food. When asked about her favorite part of the festival, the President of ArtSpring, Elaine George said the Lantern Parade is one of a kind.
“Oh my goodness, that would be on Saturday night which is kind of the wrap-up night of the big day there is a lantern parade,” George said. “So, all day and for the past couple weeks there’s been children making paper lanterns and we have a donor who supplies lights, and paint, and paper and everything for it and then on Saturday night at 7:30 there’s a parade that circles down the riverfront in Thomas and then comes back down Front Street, which is the main drag and its, it’s just yeah. It feels very nice.”
If you missed this year’s festival that’s OK, the festival will be back again next year on Memorial Day Weekend.
