2015 Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival to be a 3-day event April 10, 11, and 12

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Along with the covered-dish Smörgåsbord served at the Homefinder Center Tuesday night, The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival committee and Board of Directors feasted on the fruit of their efforts, watching a photo montage and a video of the recent 2014 festival.

Ranked first in Texas, and third in the nation by Greg Lawler’s Art Fair SourceBook, the 9th annual festival hosted a juried art show of 200 national and international artists in a wide and diversified variety of mediums. 15,000 patrons visited the event, and although a total amount of sales has not been published yet, artists surveys revealed figures of $15,000 to $45,000 per artists on average, for the 2-day show.

The committee is already planning for next year’s event which will require a third more effort, since the 2015 show will become a 3-day festival, to take place April 10, 11 & 12, so mark your calendars now.

The committee’s roundtable discussion mentioned reaching out to the senior community, and possibly school district field trips for art students, in addition to the business district, by adding Friday, April 10, to the festival.

“We want to reach additional demographics,” said Festival Director, Jenny Wright.

Wright has seen The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival grow exponentially, since first volunteering in 2006. For the last four years she has served as the Festival Director, working a continuous improvement program year after year.

“This year the most significant improvement was the ‘Kick-off Party’ and ‘60-Second Art Dash,’ two of the most eagerly anticipated events of the festival,” said Wright. “Robert Wasmund took over the event and it exceeded our expectations.”

The Art Dash is one of the unique features about The Woodlands event that differentiates it from other art festivals. VIP party guests purchase a ticket to participate in Art Dash, and then after a sneak preview, have sixty seconds to score their piece of art when their name is called. It’s important to have alternate choices as the names are called from a random drawing.

Other recent additions in recent years include performing arts demonstrations, an interactive art section for the children titled “Artopoly,” and even an opportunity to sample culinary arts.

“We’ll keep working to improve the festival every year, but want to keep it at a ‘fine arts’ level,” added Wright.

The addition of an extra day and more activities, will require a larger volunteer base. This year’s festival required 500 volunteers to operate at optimum efficiency. The non-profit organizations selected to benefit from this year’s event, who provided the volunteer base, included both the Conroe and Woodlands Art Leagues, the Ann Marie Hopkins Art Alliance which benefits TWHS art students, Because Art Matters, the Humane Society of Montgomery County, the Pavilion Partners, and The Woodlands Children’s Museum. Of special note...The Woodlands Waterway Arts Council selected The Friendship Center’s Meals On Wheels program is the 2014 and 2015 Community Art Charity Beneficiary.

President of The Woodlands Waterway Arts Council Board of Directors, Cindy Hardin, addressed the committee and board members present at the wrap-up party.

“I want to thank those present for their passion, dedication, and collaboration,” said Hardin.

Hardin mentioned that the committee for the 2015 festival will ‘pretty much’ remain intact. The success of the festival appears to be allowing committee members to do what they do best, exploiting their unique skill sets in the areas they feel they can make the greatest contribution. The only significant change, in addition to adding a third day to the event, will be the selection of artists. Being a juried art show assures that each year’s festival will be different, with only a percentage of the previous artists returning. The 2014 Best of Show artist winners are as follows:

Clayworks - Debra Steidel
Drawing/Printmaking - Michael Bond
Fiber - Beth Erlund
Glass - Ken & Ingrid Hanson
Jewelry - Janine DeCresenzo
Metalworks/Sculpt - Keith Bradley
Mixed Media 2D - Steven Graber
Mixed Media 3D - Marilyn Endres
Painting - Michael Peterson
Photography/Digital Art - Tina Leto
Wood - Michael Montgomery

Sean Brown, a jewelry designer from Denver, Colorado, has been selected as the 2015 featured artist. Brown creates one-of-a-kind ceramic and mixed media jewelry, incorporating silver, gold, and semi-precious gemstones into his unique pieces.

For those who attended this year’s festival, it will be worth a return trip to see what new artists will be featured, and you’ll have an additional day to take in the show.