Rain threatened to put a damper on last year’s Art on the Square. Not for long, though.
Masking tape would normally mark the placement of more than 170 booths. The onset of rain forced organizers to enact a back-up plan. They stuffed papers, each labeled with an “x,” into sheet protectors and added metal washers for weight.
Event co-chair Tori Otstot remembers starting the day at 3 a.m., laying the makeshift markers along Duke of Gloucester and North Boundary Streets, enveloped in darkness and rain.
Later, the rain cleared. But it wouldn’t have mattered either way.
“I don’t remember there not being a smile on my face for the rest of the day,” Otstot said. “The people make it what it is.”
Artists and art-goers will once again characterize this year’s Art on the Square, presented April 24 by the Junior Woman’s Club of Williamsburg.
The 53rd annual event is nearly as long standing as the club itself, embedded in the community for more than 60 years. Last year, Otstot met some women involved in the show’s early years. They recounted hanging artwork from chicken wire.
“We’re definitely not hanging artwork on chicken wire anymore,” Otstot said. “We’ve come a long way.”
The club received around 220 applications, reviewed by an independent jury. This year’s show features around 170 artists. They’ll display and sell their work from booths along Duke of Gloucester and North Boundary streets, judged in six categories: ceramics, painting, photography, jewelry, 3-D and 2-D art.
From delicate earrings to Windsor chairs, “there’s a nice variety of work and a nice variety of price ranges,” Otstot said.
Club president Meghan Mayfield said she loves slipping away from the Junior Woman’s booth to view the art.
“It’s very much about the art, and about the artists,” Otstot said.
It’s also about the community, as Junior Woman’s Club of Williamsburg’s largest fundraiser. The event raised $37,000 last year. The club delineates most of the funds to arts-related projects and organizations in the community.
Richard DePaul, a local artist, has partnered with the club for more than 20 years, creating and donating an original painting to each event. A raffle of the original painting and sales of reproductions fund the Richard E. and Janet L. DePaul Visual and Performing Arts Scholarships. The club offers these scholarships to Williamsburg high school seniors hoping to pursue art in college.
DePaul’s painting — a view of Duke of Gloucester Street — will display at Williamsburg Contemporary Art Center for the rest of the week.
As for Sunday’s weather forecast?
“It’s looking fabulous,” Mayfield said.
Bridges can be reached by phone at 757-345-2342.
Want to go?
When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., April 24
Where: Merchants Square
Admission: Free
Info: williamsburgjuniors.org
