2011 Festival Dates: October 1st & 2nd
Preview Night: September 30th
ver twenty-five years ago a group of Española businessmen, educators and community
members dreamed of staging an arts and crafts festival for the purpose of creating a venue for the
tri-cultural artists in the Valley who had been required to take their work out of the area to show
and sell. Since that time, the fledgling Española Valley Art Festival has grown into the single
most important event of its kind in the valley, attracting a wide range of emerging as well as
professional artists representing the three local cultures and the many art forms indigenous to
these cultures. The festival includes musicians, entertainers, children’s entertainment, and local
food venders as well Artists.
Held on the first full weekend of October each fall, the Española Valley Art Festival draws a large crowd of local as well as out-of-town and out-of-state visitors to the area. The Española Valley Festival is held around the same time as the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque so make a short trip to the fabled Northern New Mexico area and enrich your day at our festival!
The Art Festival Committee, entirely volunteer, works all year round to ensure the maximum
amount of exposure for the artists participating in the festival. One of our major advertising
enterprises each year is the printing of an official Art Festival Poster, the art for which has been
selected from a wide range of entries from local artists in our annual poster contest. The theme
for the poster this year is "-------------" a painting by Thomas Vigil and photographed by Chris
Hereford. The poster layout was by Paul Rhetts of “Tradicions Revista” magazine. These collectible
reproductions are sold at the Information Booth at the Festival each year, plus at several local
venues off-season such as the Mission Convento Gift Shop and Galeria Ortega, located on
Riverside Drive. Past years posters and tee shirts can be viewed and purchased from the Festival
website.
This year’s Española Valley Art Festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 1st and Sunday, October 2nd from 9AM to 5PM both days. It is located on the Plaza de Española, at the intersection of Hwy 84-285 and Bond Street, which is also the site of Española’s two major museums (see directions/map).
The judging of entries for prize ribbons and cash awards takes place before the event on Friday, September 30, and will be open to the public free of charge from 6PM to 8PM for early shoppers’ and annual collectors’ convenience. Gourmet delicacies and soft drinks by Marilyn Johns are served.