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Sugar Creek Arts Festival expands and grows
By Mary Ann Ford
mford@pantagraph.com
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NORMAL -- "More" is the word to describe the Sugar Creek Arts Festival this year. There will be more artists, more food, more entertainment and more ground to cover during the festival's run Saturday and Sunday.

"Every aspect has expanded," said Doug Johnson, executive director of the McLean County Arts Center, which coordinates the show with the town of Normal and WGLT radio. "It puts us in the big league."

The festival will feature a record 210 artist booths. The lineup will begin on North Street, west of Constitution Trail, and, for the first time, continue onto the Illinois State University quad.

"The partnership with ISU is really ideal," Johnson said. "It gives us extra space, expands the size and exposes the public to the quad. The Fell Arboretum (on the quad) is really one of the prettiest areas in town."

The move also helps the festival work around construction in uptown Normal.

Johnson and Normal's Community Development Director Steve Westerdahl have been working on alternatives for this year's festival for four or five years, knowing the uptown redevelopment plan would influence the space.

"The university came to us knowing we were pressed for space," Westerdahl said. "They wanted to help us out and enhance their (150th anniversary) celebration."

The extra space allowed the Arts Center to accept 60 more artists than last year. Johnson said word of the expansion brought in a record 315 applications from across the nation.

"The quality was as high as it's ever been, too," he said.

The pool includes numerous new artists and 63 returning favorites like Twin City residents Fernando Cornejo, who earned the 2006 first place award in fine arts, and Jeanine Abels, who also has won awards with her abstract collages.

"I think competition is great for those at shows for several years," said Cornejo. "It keeps us on our toes."

Abels said the expansion also could attract more out-of-town festival-goers.

Cornejo's one hope is that the quality of the artists remains the same with the expanded festival.

Shandor Madjar from Colorado Springs, Colo., is one of the newcomers. Much of his kinetic jewelry includes carved deer antlers and silver settings. Prices range from $60 to $400.

"I combine a lot of filigree with modern ideas," said Madjar, who apprenticed under a California designer for six years after high school. He went out on his own at age 22.

Shandor usually participates in the Ann Arbor, Mich., arts festival and looks for others in the area. He said he found the Sugar Creek Arts Festival on the Internet and decided to apply.

Joan Mulvehill of South Rockwood, Mich., said Sugar Creek gets high ratings from other artists so she and her partners, Larry Kiefer and Lisa Robideau, decided to apply.

"Other artists gave high marks for the setting, the town and the people who ran it," she said. "The Arts Center has added an extra bit of professionalism to it.

"They are more aware of what a professional art show should look like. They understand what people who are professional artists want."

This is the trio's 15th year traveling the arts festival circuit. They have sold their metal work at more than 800 shows. Prices range between $25 and $250.

Artist Dan Bartos originally taught and sold his pottery in Alaska but recently moved to South Dakota. Many of his pieces feature his signature carved-out areas.

"In 30 years of making pots and looking in books and magazines, I've never seen the carving," he said. He's been working on the technique for about 12 years.

"It's getting more and more elaborate," he said. "They're fun. It's a neat way to get an artsy piece for a discount price."

Mugs he makes are about $26 each.

Besides new and familiar artists, the festival will feature two entertainment stages -- one in its typical spot at Broadway and North streets, the other on the ISU quad.

Westerdahl said the Broadway stage will offer up-tempo music and the quad stage will feature more laid-back music. There will food choices at both areas.

The festival also will include activities from the Children's Discovery Museum, but in a new spot between Watterson Commons and the Alamo II bookstore. The museum parking lot is inaccessible because of uptown construction.

The children's area will feature a rock climbing wall, arts and crafts, and face painting.



At a glance



What: Sugar Creek Arts Festival

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday

Where: Begins west of Constitution Trail on North Street in uptown Normal and continues west into the Illinois State University quad

Cost: Free

Information: www.mcac.org



Getting around



The 2007 Sugar Creek Arts Festival will begin just west of Constitution Trail on North Street and continue west on North Street into the Illinois State University quad at the Fell Gates, off School Street, just north of Hovey Hall. Besides artists, the quad also will feature an entertainment stage. Additional vendors will be in front of the old ISU union and around the "In Exchange" area on School Street. The Children's Discovery Museum will offer children's activities at an area near Watterson Towers, east of The Alamo parking lot.



Entertainment lineup



Entertainment for the Sugar Creek Arts Festival will be located on two stages: at Broadway and North Street and on the ISU quad. Following is the performer lineup for each:

First stage, Broadway and North streets

Saturday

• 10 a.m.: Sugar Creek Cloggers

• 11 a.m.: Sally Weisenberg

• 1 p.m.: Delta Kings

• 3 p.m.: Hip Pocket

Sunday

• 11 a.m.: Inland Island

• 1 p.m.: Mount Pisgah Gospel Group

• 3 p.m.: Heartland Jazz Band

Second stage, ISU Quad

Saturday

• 10:30 a.m.: Joe Metzka & Friends

• 12:30 p.m.: Backyard Tire Fire

• 2:30 p.m.: Southside Cindy & The Slip Tones

Sunday

• 10:30 a.m.: Wise Guise

• 12:30 p.m.: David Hoffman Quartet

• 2:30 p.m.: Mike and Amy Finders



Festival parking



Several parking lots and a shuttle service will be available for those attending this weekend's Sugar Creek Arts Festival in Normal. All listed parking is free.

• Illinois State University parking garage at School and Beaufort streets (first floor only; about 70 spaces)

• ISU parking garage on University Street, north of Beaufort and east of the ISU tennis courts

• ISU Bone Student Center lot

• Public lots at City Hall, 100 E. Phoenix Ave., and at Parkinson and Linden streets

• Chiddix Junior High School lot, 300 S. Walnut St.

• The town will offer a shuttle service from the Chiddix lot to the Amtrak depot from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Take a look
The Sugar Creek Arts Festival is expanding into the Illinois State University quad this year. The festival begins west of Constitution Trail on North Street and heads west into the quad by ISU's In Exchange sculpture garden. (Pantagraph/LORI ANN COOK)
The 2007 Sugar Creek Arts Festival will begin just west of Constitution Trail on North Street and continue west on North Street into the Illinois State University quad at the Fell Gates, off School Street, just north of Hovey Hall. Besides artists, the quad also will feature an entertainment stage. Additional vendors will be in front of the old ISU union and around the "In Exchange" area on School Street. The Children's Discovery Museum will offer children's activities at an area near Watterson Towers, east of The Alamo parking lot.
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Reader comments on this story - 15 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

thom brouillette wrote on Jul 14, 2007 8:08 AM:

" hey i have an idea lets use this space to criticize and name call. not only would that be kind, considerate, and mature, but it also would help people to see the benefit of of posting their comments on here. maybe the person writing about the parking problem has a harder time walking than you do. maybe they are elderly. maybe you should consider how you would feel if that were your situation instead of just calling lazy or "paris hilton". i hope your knees swell up and you cant walk for a week and you learn just how that feels. do (say)unto others as you would have done (said) unto you. "

Festivus wrote on Jul 9, 2007 7:15 AM:

" This was the 24th year for the festival which has always been held in the business district. It has grown from about30 artists to 210 this year. Crowds have averaged 20,000 for the weekend for the past several years. The quad was nice, maybe it can continue to be incorporated. Hold the festival at night? Any ideas how to get electricity to 210 booths? Or will you bring your own flashlight? The temperature was still in the mid-80's at 8 p.m. last night. With attendance over 20,000, those few of you who whine about the heat can stay out of the kitchen. "

Ditto wrote on Jul 8, 2007 11:06 PM:

" > PLEASE MOVE THE FESTIVAL TO THE QUAD NEXT YEAR!! I couldn't agree MORE. I know they are trying to help the local merchants, but this was the first year I could stand the heat for more than 20 minutes (I'm built like a polar bear). I noticed that when two bands were playing simultaneously (in the shady quad and in the baking hot stage by the post office), the crowd was good in the quad and only one or two people dared to stop in the direct sunlight to see the band by the post office. "

move to quad! wrote on Jul 8, 2007 7:44 PM:

" it was very nice to have artists on the quad this year. my mother and i spent more time browsing those boothes than baking in the blazing heat on north st. PLEASE MOVE THE FESTIVAL TO THE QUAD NEXT YEAR!! "

Nice wrote on Jul 7, 2007 4:39 PM:

" I went to the Festival it is very nice much larger than other years. I only bought food but there are some very nice artsy items. "

shaniqua wrote on Jul 7, 2007 11:47 AM:

" i hope the jewery brings out the color of my eyes "

Wondering wrote on Jul 7, 2007 4:59 AM:

" If the shuttle is air-conditioned? Just a joke!! "

no parking, don't drive wrote on Jul 6, 2007 10:53 AM:

" if you're so "fed up" with parking try something new like ride a bike, get a scooter or one of those electric scoot-about chairs, or better yet, steal a grocery cart and have your friends push you around. think of something. just stop whining. this is a great event for the community, so just enjoy it! "

Paris Hilton calling wrote on Jul 6, 2007 7:34 AM:

" Oh, my. What if my limo driver won't be able to pull-up right to the first booth of the festival and let me off there? Don't tell me I'll have to walk for two, God forbid FIVE whole minutes from my car to the festival! It just won't be worth it to park in one of the two parking decks or the Bone Student Center and have to walk that long. I guess I'll just sit home and stare at the walls instead. This is why I prefer attending events in Chicago and New York City: you never have to walk anywhere. You just park right at the front door of everything. "

To: WHY???? wrote on Jul 6, 2007 7:26 AM:

" If you are tired of hearing Hip Pocket at the Arts Fest, try the Delta Kings who will be playing at 1 pm on Sat. at the festival. They are a group from Champaign who are outstanding. They played at the festival last year. "

WHY???? wrote on Jul 5, 2007 11:24 PM:

" .....Does Hippocket play every year???...I'm very sure there are more bands around!!! "

LOL! wrote on Jul 5, 2007 7:11 PM:

" That was a good one. I actually like this festival. I never buy anything except the food and beverages but for some reason I like walking around looking at everything. "

to good luck wrote on Jul 5, 2007 3:43 PM:

" there is plenty of parking around ISU during the summer. It is a two minute walk from the Bone parking lot to this part of the quad. Given your attitude, you probably would only be happy if a limo or helicopter dropped you off. "

To good luck wrote on Jul 5, 2007 3:39 PM:

" There will be plenty of parking available for this amazing event. For those people, like you, who are too lazy to ever get out of their cars, please stay at home and let the rest of us enjoy the festival! "

Good luck wrote on Jul 5, 2007 12:29 PM:

" finding parking. I'm fed up with the parking situation on a regular day. "
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