ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – July 26 – August 3, the City of Escanaba is celebrating its wide range of talented creators during Art Week.
Art Week is sponsored by the Escanaba DDA and supported by a Michigan Arts and Culture Council grant. There is a full schedule of activities open to the public, which started with plein air painting at the Marketplace Monday morning.
“‘Plein air,’ meaning playing with the existing light,” said oil painter Marlene Wood. “We don’t have a lot of changes today, but usually you have to really quickly put down your light source because it changes so quickly. The beauty of outdoor painting is that you depict a season, a temperature, a time of day.”
On Tuesday, the Marketplace will host free youth art projects from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Then at 4:00 p.m., Artist Lauren Hovland will host a ‘Purrr-fect Cats’ paint class for kids ages 6 to 14.
On Wednesday, the regular Lunch on Ludington music series will begin at 11:30 a.m. The Escanaba City Band will perform in Ludington Park at 7:30 p.m. The House of Ludington will also have live music at 8:00 p.m.
On Thursday, the Marketplace will feature a Greek Folk Dancing class at 1:00 p.m., followed by a Paint N Sip with Staci Berg at 3:00 p.m. The Bonifas Arts Center will host a class on making mosaic rocks with Jan Dillon from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The Marketplace’s weekly Pop-UP Market will take place on Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Leigh’s Garden Winery’s piano night will begin at 6:00 p.m.
With such a variety of artistic events and activities to enjoy, Wood says there is something for everyone during Art Week.
“Anything that goes on this week is really to bring the community together to showcase the arts and culture here in Escanaba,” she said. “You don’t have to be a professional. You can be a total beginner because art is for everybody and it’s very individualized.”
Throughout the week, the public is invited to participate in a community art project at the Marketplace, where they will construct the new Downtown Escanaba logo with smaller pieces they have created. It all leads Saturday’s 5K Color Run in Ludington Park at 8 a.m., the Waterfront Art Festival in the park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Rock the Dock at the Municipal Dock beginning at 4 p.m.
For more information on Art Week events, visit escanabadowntown.com. To register for Art Week classes and activities through the bonifas, visit bonifasarts.org. Wood’s work can be seen at Zero Degrees Gallery in Marquette.
