Craig has been playing the festival since 1994 with three different bands: Stark Raven, Sirens and Lone Raven. During those years, he has performed on all of the different stages and has had the honor of watching the festival grow from a relatively small gathering to a blossoming, multicultural celebration. Craig and Kara have always admired the diversity of the festival, which encompasses an impressively wide range of talented musicians and visual media artists.

Our thoughts on the new location? We love it! Craig remembers the previous stage on the river and the former main stage. The current location is ideal for drawing a crowd, since attendees can hear the music as they browse the booths and then easily walk over to sit and listen. This allows for the performers to interact more with the festival patrons, and that’s always a very good thing for us!

The Art’s Festival’s staff and volunteers have always been extremely helpful and supportive- the best of the best- and the sound systems are high-quality and professional. In fact, these are two high points of doing the festival for us. We’re thrilled to be part of such a fantastic event again this year! Best of luck this summer!

-Craig and Kara Markley of Lone Raven

Lone Raven will headline tonight on the Main Stage from 8:30-10:00 p.m.

How long have you been volunteering? What do you do as “head of operations”?

I’m in my 13th or 14th year of volunteering, I can’t even remember! Katie (Laux Lucas, Columbus Arts Festival Director) is my fourth director. Working in operations means a lighter workload during the year, then an intense last month through the event. Everyone is so committed and enjoys volunteering. During the Arts Festival, we do about 12 hour days. We help open, we help close and we address issues during the Festival. With our little tool bag of pliers, screwdrivers, duct tape and zip ties, we can fix almost anything an artist has an issue with.

How do you prepare for an event like this?

(Sue laughs….) We bring extra everything – shoes, socks, dry clothes; we prepare for any type of weather. We have a handbook that maps out everything minute-by -minute, hour-by-hour. We get a lot of questions all at once, and we need to know exactly where everything is. Everything is strategically placed to make sure the 230 plus artists, 23 food vendors and sponsor booths fit. Before the Festival, we measure and mark every street and every booth. So many details go into making sure everything fits; it’s pretty cool. We even have a pre-measured rope that’s the exact length of 4 booths. (Sue pauses to give directions to a volunteer, spouting off details only an experience volunteer would know. She tells him to act like the Arts Festival is your house and keep it clean!) Once we mark the streets, the very strategically planned art of moving in the artists begins.
Operations is responsible for setting up, which involves some big numbers. We provide 69 tents, 119 banner poles, 370 tables and 875 chairs.

How is the day going so far?

The first day of the Arts Festival is always crazy. But now, we’ve put out all the little fires for the day. Things will slow down until Sunday about 1:00 p.m., when the art of move out begins.

What’s your most memorable Columbus Arts Festival experience so far this year?

Yesterday, the people from Burt’s Bees were running around in bee suits handing out samples, and I created this crazy rhyme that went something like ‘a bevy of beautiful Burt’s Bees brandishing free samples.’ There are also some other cool new things. The Smuckers’ tent is giving out free ice cream toppings and taking pictures and putting your face on a sundae. Also, over in the Museum parking lot, there are artists putting make-up on kids so they look like Cleopatra.

Fortunately, the great masters tend not to attract too many sneak attacks. There are no “Picasso Bloods” or “Van Gogh Crips,” so the officers who work the event don’t usually have to deal with those types of issues. We do, however, concentrate on providing a safe, fun and friendly environment for all. Providing a safe environment is an officer’s primary duty. Most of the officers work a variety of assignments throughout the Division, but they especially love to work this event. The vast majority of them have worked the Festival for many years. Personally, I have had the privilege of working the Columbus Arts Festival in some capacity for nearly twenty years.

During that time I’ve seen some great shows and some shows where the forces of nature have wrecked havoc on the event, blowing entire tents off a downtown bridge and into the Scioto River. I’ve seen some of those ne’er-do-wells I mentioned earlier try to “liberate items” from artists. However, from a security standpoint, we have shown that extra vigilance and attention to detail and have avoided any real problems with thefts or damages.

I do recall one occasion a couple of years ago at the old downtown site where an individual had a little too much to drink and was brought to his knees in abject terror because he saw a “15 foot monster” and a big bear staring at him as he tried to stumble through the Festival site. The monster and bear were real of sorts – they were made out of a whole bunch of nails and were on display and for sale at an artist’s booth. I’m not sure, but I think the fellow stopped drinking that very moment.

Providing security for the event has been fun and educational. I, as well as other officers, have often purchased various pieces of art because we fell in love with the exceptional work that we saw. So you may rest assured that the Columbus Division of Police is vigilant and working hard to help you have a great and safe show.

Sgt. Robert L. Stewart is part of the special-duty force that works the Columbus Arts Festival each year. We love our special duty officers, who work on the Festival’s behalf outside their duties in the city’s Division of Police.

I started full time at GCAC as the coordinator for the Columbus Arts Festival in January. It was the calm before the storm. Each day got increasingly busier and here we are just four days before the Festival!

I’ve always enjoyed festivals but I never realized all of the small details that go into planning such an event. For example, I’ve seen a map that shows where the rain puddles form on the streets and sidewalks in the Discovery District. Who knows that stuff? I know fire lanes are 20 feet wide and it’s best if food vendors are close to storm drains and fire hydrants. The logistics that go into planning the festival are truly amazing.

Another amazing aspect of the festival is our coordinating committee. Made up of a group of about 60 volunteers, the committee works year-round to help make the event a success. A few of the members have helped with the festival for over 20 years and I would guess more than half have volunteered for at least 10. This group works so well together and is so passionate about the festival. Many of them even take vacation time so they can be on site to work hard from set up to tear down! This committee has welcomed me and helped me get a better understanding of all that goes into coordinating a huge festival.

I feel like this week is a race against time to get everything done, especially all of those last minute details. I’m sure everything will be fine because the Festival runs like a well oiled machine due to fine leadership from the director, Katie Laux Lucas, and the fabulous and dedicated coordinating committee and on-site volunteers.

For more information about this weekend’s Columbus Arts Festival presented by Time Warner Cable and produced by the Greater Columbus Arts Council, check out www.gcac.org/fest. See you in the Discovery District, June 5, 6 & 7!

There will also be a Salon Schools make-up station where you can transform yourself into a King Tut or a Cleopatra, and a Generation Gap magical Act featuring Jim Rogers and his thirteen-year-old grandson Ian Davis performing family-friendly illusions. Finally, and I have to say I think this is truly a first for the Museum, there will be a giant inflatable slide located in our parking lot along with an inflatable bounce house. I am fairly certain we’ve managed to cover our bases and can honestly say that we will, indeed, have something here for every visitor.

Arts Festival is one of those fabulous Columbus traditions that helps make central Ohio the richly layered community it is and firmly establishes us a cultural destination. Last year, nearly 7,000 people visited the Museum over the course of the festival, we hope to welcome even more of you this year.

Art Speaks. Join the Conversation.

Nannette Maciejunes, CMA Executive Director

Note: Admission to the Columbus Arts Museum will be FREE the entire weekend of the Columbus Arts Festival presented by Time Warner Cable, June 5, 6 & 7. Don’t miss this special exhibition which closes on Sunday, the last day of the Festival. Visit www.columbusmuseum.org for more information.

We’re hoping for good weather. Last year was brutally hot and I know I missed the cooling river breezes. Sure made the smoothies and cold beer taste good though.

The nexus of culture, commerce, and entertainment that GCAC pulls off so successfully is something that is easy to take for granted. We don’t! It is a great, great thing to have the festival here. We of course would love to become the permanent home for it, but we’re delighted to settle for the 3-year run. We’re sure looking forward to June 5, 6 & 7!

For more information about the Columbus College of Art & Design, visit their Web site at http://www.ccad.edu/.

The other 361 days is full of meetings. With whom, you ask? It might be easier to list who I don’t meet with. This is what makes my job so great! I get to meet with such a diverse group of people to make this Festival happen.

I meet with visual artists, performing artists, food vendors, volunteers, street performers, and those are just some of the participants who make our Festival a community favorite. I also get to meet with all the behind the scenes folks, too! City of Columbus recreation and parks staff (who are AMAZING!), transportation, water, electric, public safety and fire are just a few of the great city employees I have the pleasure to work with. These behind-the-scenes people help make our city festivals happen! Then there are the logistical vendors I work with who have taught me more than I ever thought I would need to know about electricity, port-a-johns, barricades, cleaning spray chalk off street, staging and tents.

The corporate community in Columbus is by far one of the most generous. Time Warner Cable, American Electric Power, Motorists Insurance Group, State Auto Insurance, Salon Schools Group and Design Communications have been wonderful corporate partners that help us bring the Festival to central Ohio for free! WOSU, CD101, Ohio Magazine and Columbus alive also provide tremendous media support.

Volunteers are the key to the success of the Festival. Year-round I get to work with the most amazing group of people – the Festival Coordinating Committee, made up of 60 members of the Columbus community who are truly the soul of the Festival. They give so much of themselves in time and love to the Festival. Starting in November they begin working to organize the many aspects of the event. I can honestly say they have all been a wonderful blessing to my life and to the Festival.
Finally, I believe the Festival is truly a community event. I work with quite a few local organizations as well to help strengthen our sense of community in any small way that I can. Experience Columbus’ Events Council, Discovery District Development Corporation, Columbus Historical Society and Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival are just a few of the organizations that offer me the opportunity to give back to the community.

This is just a small glimpse into what my other 361 days are filled with – there is a pile of paperwork I would gladly share with you, and if you ever need to know how wide Long Street is or how many parking spots are in one of Columbus College of Art & Design’s lots give me a call, I have that info.

Two of our fabulous, hardworking Coordinating Committee members taking a much-needed break during the “Art Party.”

GCAC President

Welcome to our first blog for the Columbus Arts Festival presented by Time Warner Cable. Starting today through the event June 5, 6 and 7, we’ll use this space to give you an insider’s look at what it takes to pull together approximately 230 visual artists, 450 volunteers, more than 20 performers, food vendors, our local sponsors and partners, miles of electrical wire, more tents, tables and chairs than we can count and somewhere between 250,000 and 500,000 people. You’ll hear from our Festival Director, Katie Laux Lucas, our artists and performers, our Discovery District partners, one of the police officers who guards the site and more, and by the time we’re done, we hope you have a 360 degree look at this favorite community event.

But today, I want to focus on the concept behind the event – a free, public arts experience for everyone. Because I feel this is quite possibly the most important goal of the Columbus Arts Festival, to provide a way for Columbus residents and visitors to interact with, make, enjoy and yes, perhaps purchase art in a relaxed setting without being charged at the door. It’s not often that arts organizations can provide free arts experiences because of the costs they incur to make and produce the art, though I know they try when they can. And the Columbus Arts Festival could not be free without generous support from our sponsors, including Time Warner Cable, alive!, Motorists’ Insurance, American Electric Power, Giant Eagle and others. But a free festival is something we at the Greater Columbus Arts Council, as producers of the Festival, are deeply committed to maintaining. Because we feel that art is for everyone, and arts experiences should be available to everyone, even if they can’t afford to pay for them.

I encourage you to join us June 5, 6 and 7 and discover the art at the Columbus Arts Festival. I also encourage you to check out other free arts experiences throughout the community this summer, such as the Columbus Museum of Art’s free Sundays, the King Arts Complex’s 12th Annual Heritage Concert Series or the Ohio Statehouse’s Summer Lunchtime Performing Arts Series, which you can find on ColumbusArts.com, our Web site for event listings throughout central Ohio. Uncover the bounty of arts options throughout the city that are fun, educational and easy on your budget.