This Saturday and Sunday, the RiverArtsFest returns to Riverside Drive for its 17th year, bringing more than 150 artists from around the country to show off and sell their latest works. “The event is a celebration of the arts,” says Kelley Morice, the fest’s director of marketing and public relations. “We have the longest-running and the largest fine arts festival in the region.”
And that’s not all, Morice says: The festival has been ranked among the best fine arts festivals in the nation by Sunshine Artist magazine and Art Fair Source Book. Each year, a blind jury selects the more than 150 artists from hundreds of applications, making sure that the artists span a variety of media from jewelry to woodworking. “As a festival, we want to make sure when people come they get to see really amazing, unique work that’s not all the same.”
Part of the appeal of the market, Morice adds, is that you can interact with the artists. “You can see what’s inspired them, and maybe leave inspired.” And to lend an even more immersive experience, the festival will also have demonstrations, with local artists demonstrating their craft live: Kendra Burchett in fiber and leather, Rick Cannon in wood turning, Katey Henriksen in papermaking, Danielle Sierra in painting, Kenny Hayes in assemblage, Nicola Uphoff-Tupis in glassblowing, and David Johnson in pottery, and Brittney Boyd Bullock in metalsmithing.
Plus, festival-goers can enjoy live music from local artists and bands, and this year, the fest has added a dedicated stage for local performing arts to offer an all-encompassing arts experience. On Saturday, the Tennessee Shakespeare Company, Harmonic South String Orchestra, Memphis ChoralArts, Hot Foot Honeys tap dance company, and Hattiloo Theatre will perform, and on Sunday, you can catch performances by the Memphis Youth Symphony Program, Cazateatro Bilingual Theatre Group, PRIZM Ensemble, Opera Memphis, and SubRoy Movement.
In addition, the festival will have two planned craft stations for children and the young at heart, food courts, and beverage vendors.
All proceeds from the festival support RiverArtsFest’s Community and Arts Education initiatives, which offer free programming to students of all ages and abilities, art educators, and the public, while providing paid opportunities for local artists. One such initiative, reintroduced this year after a Covid hiatus, is the Emerging Artists program, which mentors local budding artists in exhibiting and selling their creations. This year’s selected artists are Jana Wilson and William Lescheck, both of whom will showcase their original work at the festival.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit riverartsmemphis.org.
RiverArtsFest, Saturday-Sunday, October 21-22, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., $10/general admission; $5/65+, veterans and Active military, children (6-18); free/children (5 and under).
Festival Stage Lineup
Saturday, October 21
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Jeff Hulett Trio
12:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m.: Graham Winchester
2 p.m.-3:15 p.m.: Rachel Maxann
3:30 p.m.-5 p.m.: Alexis Jade & the Gemstones
Strolling performance by Jeff Hulett
Sunday, October 22
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Beth Luscombe Strings
12:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m.: Jeremy Stanfill
2 p.m.-3:15 p.m.: Loveland Duren
3:30 p.m.-5 p.m.: Tennessee Mass Choir
Strolling performance by Brad Fielder
ARTSmemphis Partners Stage
Saturday, October 21
10:45 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Tennessee Shakespeare Company
Noon-12:45 p.m.: Harmonic South String Orchestra
1:15 p.m.-2 p.m.: Memphis ChoralArts
2:30 p.m.-3:15 p.m.: Hot Foot Honeys Tap Dance Company
3:45 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Hattiloo Theatre
Sunday, October 22
10:45 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Memphis Youth Symphony Program
Noon-12:45 p.m.: Cazateatro Bilingual Theatre Group
1:15 p.m.-2 p.m.: PRIZM Ensemble
2:30 p.m.-3:15 p.m.: Opera Memphis
3:45 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: SubRoy Movement
