Warm, sunny weather with an occasional gust of wind replaced last year’s torrential rains at the fifth annual Riverwalk Fine Arts Festival, held Saturday at Riverbank Park.
Last year, poor weather because of a hurricane forced the cancellation of the festival, but this year the show returned strongly. Many believe that is a sign that Westbrook is developing as a budding arts community.
“I see this festival becoming bigger,” said Windham resident Rick Small, who came to the festival with his wife, Deb Small. “It’s a nice collection of artists, which is the important thing. And it’s a relaxed atmosphere in a nice setting.”
Small said he is an artist himself, and enjoys going to various arts festivals during the summer months. He said he thought Westbrook’s show compared favorably to others he’s been to. He also said the show is an example of how Westbrook is growing as a community.
“I think Westbrook is a place to watch,” said Small. “Westbrook is a strong, up-and- coming community. The development committees deserve some credit for attracting businesses.”
Hali and Matt Fortin, a young couple who just moved to Westbrook from Bangor, said they were attracted to the city because it was close to Portland but still has a small-town feel.
“It’s kind of a combination of city and small town,” said Hali Fortin, who added she likes to go to art shows every once in a while, and saw the tents and came over.
The artists agreed that the festival, while still relatively small compared to those in Portland and Cape Elizabeth, is a sign that Westbrook is developing as an arts community.
“I think it’s a good, young show. I don’t see why it shouldn’t grow,” said artist Pat Apt, who recently moved to Westbrook from Portland, and keeps a home in the artist community in Guadalajara, Mexico. “I think as an arts community Westbrook has a tremendous advantage in that it’s a lot more affordable than Portland.”
Apt said developing an arts community takes some time, but she believes Westbrook has come a long way in the last decade. She said one thing that would really help Westbrook would be to have at least one working gallery, either city-owned or privately owned.
Small agreed, saying he and his wife have been watching Westbrook’s transformation from mill town to budding city with interest. Small said he remembers the Westbrook of dirt roads and farms when he visited his grandmother as a child about 50 years ago.
Artist Margette Leanna said she still thinks the festival has some way to go before it’ll draw top-quality artists, but she thinks the sponsoring organization, the Westbrook Community Chamber, will continue to work hard on the project.
In fact, some of the artists at the show were unfamiliar with Westbrook, but came because organizers who had seen their art invited them.
“I didn’t know where Westbrook was, but I was invited so I came,” said Portsmouth, N.H., artist Melissa McLeod, whose bright, colorful paintings attracted many passersby. “It’s a great location and a nice thing for the town.”
Cam Sinclair of Plymouth, N.H., said he hadn’t heard of the show previously, but came anyway because it was in the Greater Portland area. Sinclair said he was a founder of the arts festival in Plymouth and thinks it’s done much for that town.
“A lot of shows do that. It brings people to the town,” he said. “Any culture is good for a town, and this is a cute little town.”
Leanna said it takes some time to grow a large festival and attract bigger artists. “A good, buying crowd will get good artists,” she said. “And you’ve got to convince good artists that there will be people there to buy.”
Hali Fortin said she prefers art with a more contemporary or abstract feel than much of what was on exhibit, but Leanna said that’s all part of attracting a bigger diversity and higher quality of artists.
Chamber organizer Susan Eldridge said was pleased with the weather and the turnout of locals. She said there was a steady stream of people coming in all day long. “
(And) I’ve seen a lot of people walking around with packages,” she said.
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