5th Annual Clara Brierly Festival of the Arts
The Clara Brierly Festival of the Arts is an echo of the Chautauqua (a kind of traveling, tent- show which used to move across America in the late 1800s and early 1900s) that is so tied to Peculiar's history. This annual celebration of all forms of art held in the heart of the Downtown Peculiar Arts & Culture District in Peculiar, Missouri - (at the southern tip of the Kansas City Metro area). Admission and entertainment are FREE. There will be a staffed welcome booth for attendees and participating artists, performers and food vendors.
Our festival is a smaller, friendlier venue where artists and patrons have more face to face time and the feel is hometown. The artist vendors are juried into our show so you can always expect high quality offerings. In the past, offerings have ranged from chainsaw sculptures to silversmith work, metal artists to oil painters, potters to poets and almost everything in between. Because we want our vendors to be successful and we want our patrons to experience variety, we do not accept artists whose work is similar; e.g. we may accept three painters but one maybe a realist, one may do abstract work and one may specialize in rattle can paintings; we may have three jewelry vendors but one may do lamp work, one may do wire work and one may do polymer work.
We have a hands on area for kids to "get their art on". Food vendors offer a variety of yummy treats. Our stage boasts both local and regional talent that can be enjoyed by everyone. Among the talent on the stage, we host a talent show on Saturday with amateur, professional and, of course, most peculiar categories - come show us what you've got!.
Our festival is held in the benevolent shadow of our 100 plus year old, rock church and adjoining hall; a block from one of the few three legged water towers in the nation. We are both an open air location with street vendors as well as an indoor venue with indoor vendors and indoor restrooms. For GPS purposes, use 163 W. Center Street as the location address.
The festival staff is all volunteer and, as this festival is directly tied to our not for profit organization's mission, there is a different focus than at a for profit festival. Any proceeds from the festival go back into Downtown revitalization.
Festival hours of operation will be Friday June 7, 2012 from 5 pm - 10 pm ; Saturday June 8, 2012 from 10 am - 10 pm and Sunday June 9, 2009 from 12 pm - 4 pm.
The festival is named for Clara Brierly, a Peculiar artist whose form of expression was oil painting. While her subject matter was traditional, the surfaces upon which she painted put her in squarely in the outsider artist camp (outsider artists are those with no formal training). Miss Clara, as everyone who knew her called her, lived and painted in Peculiar for the greater part of the 20th century. A book and DVD about Miss Clara will be available for purchase at the Welcome Tent during the festival should you want to learn more about her.
Applications to participate in the festival can be downloaded below or on our online form.
For Artists & Food Vendors
Talent Show
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