Arts & Entertainment

Celebrate Autumn at Outdoor Arts Festival Oct. 8-9

Arts Center at Killingworth's Autumn Open Art Studio Trail and Outdoor Arts Festival features local artists from Haddam, Higganum, Ivoryton and Essex.

Celebrate the rich variety of New England artists and crafters at the ’s Autumn Open Art Studio Trail and Outdoor Arts Festival, October 8-9. 

This year find the Outdoor Festival at a new location – the historic Madison Town Green in Madison, CT.  For the first time, Weekend Travel Packages are available to visitors looking for the perfect autumn getaway experience. There are quaint local B&B’s and inns featured on the Arts Center website offering special dining discounts with a two-night stay.

Visitors on the Open Studio Trail enter the private, working spaces of artists and crafters winding through Madison, Clinton, Killingworth, Haddam, Chester, Westbrook and Ivoryton.  

Find out what's happening in The Haddams-Killingworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

These picturesque towns and villages along the Shoreline offer some of the areas most scenic fall foliage viewing, and examples of classic New England architecture.  Studio artists participating are landscape and realist painters Jan Blencowe and Diana Lyn Côté; modern and abstract painters Karen Green Recor, Jill Vaughn and Karen Bartone; en plein-air watercolorist Theresa Zwart-Ludeman; illustrator and printmaker Sanna Stanley; photographer and mixed media artist Debi Friedlander; award-winning potters and ceramicists Hayne Bayless and John Hull; wood artisan Tony DeLorenzo; sculptors and painters Gail Mally-Mack and Ashby Carlisle; jewelry designer and decorative glass artist Mary Anne DeLorenzo; and couture fashion designer Astrid Niemelaeinen.

For the first time, the FREE two-day Outdoor Arts Festival, which showcases fine artists and award-winning artisans, is held on the charming and historic Madison Town Green, located at Boston Post Rd (Rte. 1) and Copse Rd., Madison, CT. 

Find out what's happening in The Haddams-Killingworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Dozens of artists and crafters are exhibiting and selling their work including representational and modern painters, sculptors, photographers, potters and ceramicists, jewelry designers, as well as artisans working with glass, wood, tile, metal, alabaster, mixed media and fabric.

The Outdoor Arts Festival has grown over the years and now involves artists and crafters from the New England area and throughout the state.

“The returning public considers this weekend art and travel experience an annual event marked on their calendars for return visits to favorite, as well as new Studios and Festival exhibitors," says Barbara Nair, Executive Director of the Arts Center Killingworth. "This year the event has grown to over 80 participating artists and crafters participating in both the Open Art Studios and the Outdoor Arts Festival.

“It offers the public an interactive experience and tangible look into the creative process of many different art forms. They can see artists working, ask questions and acquire fine art, and families with children are always welcome.”

The Madison Green itself is a destination, surrounded by historical buildings including the Lee Academy, the town’s first high school built in 1821, and the Grave House, one of the oldest structures in Connecticut, built in 1685, fully restored in 1983 and currently housing a museum. 

The festive atmosphere on the Madison Town Green is enhanced with live music, food vendors, and creative activities for children and teens such as Origami mini-workshops, jewelry-making for boys and girls, and for a special treat, “Beautiful Bubbles” a fun and interactive activity offered by the Children’s Museum of Southeastern Connecticut.

Entrance to the Outdoor Arts Festival on the Madison Green is FREE.  Weekend Passes to visit the Open Art Studios are $10 (FREE for children 12 and under) and can be purchased at the Arts Festival or by calling the Arts Center Killingworth at (860)-663-5593 and online at www.artscenterkillingworth.org.

Passes purchased in advance will be held at the Arts Festival.  The Arts Center offers an online gallery for up-to-date coverage of participating artists and crafters as well as details on Weekend Getaway Travel Packages online and on their Facebook page.

The Arts Center Killingworth is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization focused on the development and presentation of the visual and performing arts on the Shoreline of Connecticut. The Center supports artists by organizing exhibits and concerts, staging theater events, and offering classes, camps and workshops for children, teens and adults.  The Arts Center offers a variety of special events and ongoing volunteer opportunities as well as tax-deductible Membership to the public.  Membership provides unique benefits including class and workshop discounts, complimentary tickets, advance event information, members-only special invitations, and advertising and fee discounts for artists, local and regional businesses.  Membership Gift Certificates are available. For more information call (860)-663-5593 or email the Arts Center Killingworth at artscenterkillingworth@gmail.com. Visit the Arts Center online at www.artscenterkillingworth.org, and connect with us for behind-the-scenes information and photos by becoming a fan on facebook.com/artscenterkillingworth and following the Art Center at twitter.com/arts_center_ct.


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