St. Augustine art festival draws thousands | Jacksonville.com.
Despite the sluggish economy, the St. Augustine Art Association's Art & Craft Festival had 164 artists and craftmakers exhibiting this year - its largest ever, said the association's president - and thousands came over the weekend to peruse their works. By 2 p.m. Sunday, about 6,000 attendees had been admitted at the special events field near the St. Augustine Visitor's Information Center to browse art prints, original works, blown glass, leather and wood crafts and dozens of other gifts and to just soak up the sights, St. Augustine Art Association President Diane Bradley said. The day's crowd looked as though it would top the estimated 7,000 to 8,000 who had visited the day before, she noted. The exhibitors were juried by five judges before they were accepted to show there, Bradley said. Although the show is an institution in St. Augustine - the association now has run it since 1965 and the city of St. Augustine ran it before that, Bradley said - it did have its share of artists showing for the first time this year. DeLand artist Jo Ann Raulerson, who produces nearly photorealistic images of 1940s, '50s and '60s "Old Florida" with watercolor and pen, is back on the art festival circuit after a long absence and said she's had a good first time at the St. Augustine event. "The economy's hurting, but I sold two originals," she said. "That's a big deal." Bradley said the economy appeared to have hurt the association's spring show, with reduced attendance this year. But the after-Thanksgiving show, typically the larger of the two, appears that it won't disappoint this year, she said. "We're delighted with the turnout of the artists, as well as the customers," she said.
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