The annual Cabin Fever Arts Festival, originally set for late February, was postponed due to inclement weather. This year’s event will be held 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 20, at Southern State’s Appalachian Gateway Center, 12681 U.S. 62, Fincastle, Ohio. There will be food, live music, workshops, displays and 35 artisan booths.
A celebration of traditional Appalachian arts and culture, the Cabin Fever Arts Festival is organized by the Appalachian Artists Guild. The event is free and open to the public.
Workshops & Displays
Six workshops will be offered during the Cabin Fever Arts Festival. Each workshop includes a fee and preregistration is required. Participants must be at least 12 years of age. To register, send an email to member@appartguild.com. Payment can be made the day of the festival.
Workshops include:
· Heirloom Egg, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.: Learn the old Hungarian art of etching designs on dyed eggs. $10 fee.
· Soap Making, 11 a.m.: Create scented liquid soap to take home; workshop will include instruction on the natural liquid soap process; dispensing bottle with pump, liquid soap, essential oil and/or fragrance oil will be provided. $15 fee.
· Sleeping Mouse, 11:30 a.m.: Make one mouse sleeping in walnut shell and take home supplies to make two more. $10 fee.
· Beginning Dulcimer, 1 p.m.: Participate in a one-hour introductory class for beginners; participants must bring their own instruments. $10 fee.
· Silver Clay Jewelry, 2 p.m.: Use blow dryers and Dremel tools to make a five-gram fine silver necklace; class lasts two hours. $25 fee.
· Mountain Dulcimers—Jam with Sue, 2:30 p.m.: Music and instruction will be provided for a jam session adapted to all levels of experience; participants must bring instruments and stands. $2 fee.
On display will be handcrafted quilts by three Highland County quilting groups—Bits and Pieces (Greenfield), Country Quilters (Hillsboro) and Highland County Quilters (Hillsboro)—as well as a Civil War display by the U.S. Grant Homestead Association celebrating the life and legacy of Ulysses S. Grant and the Brown County Civil War soldiers. As part of the display, the association will fill a room with photographs and displays of weapons, maps, equipment and food to illustrate the lifestyle, struggles and accomplishments of the local Civil War solider.
Arts & Crafts Vendors
Arts and crafts vendors for the 2010 festival include: Pike County Farm LLC (woodland products, woodcraft, photography, picture frames, cutting boards and peg boards); Cattail Acres Gourmet (jams, preserves, fruit bitters, specialty baked goods); Sue’s Wearable Art (appliquéd clothing); Strands of Grace (baskets, beaded jewelry, crocheted and knitted items); Mill Branch Soap (natural olive oil soaps and lotions, and cold-process liquid soap); The Wooden Gift Shop (wood scrollsaw items, flowers, boxes, bookmarks, bears, ornaments and keychains); Jaybird Farms (dried florals, homemade jams and jellies, herbal crafts and fudge); Dave’s Welding (barn stars and wrought iron items); Gabby’s Grace (tote bags, purses and angels); Eyes of Wonder Cards (photo greeting cards); Bowman Studio (acrylic paintings of animals, portraits and totem paintings); and Sunflower Sundries Farm (organic soap, jams, mustard and corn meal). Several of the artists will also be demonstrating how they create their work.
More Information
Founded in 1994, the Appalachian Artists Guild is a non-profit organization dedicated to the support of artists and artisans in the southern Ohio River Valley. The organization strives to preserve the traditional handmade arts of Appalachia and to promote the contemporary artistic expressions of regional artists and artisans. To learn more, visit www.appartguild.com.
For more information about Southern State Community College, please visit www.sscc.edu or call 1-800-628-7722.
