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Posts Tagged ‘Festival’

Nevada is a robust state with cities and towns rich with culture, one of those towns being Henderson in between Las Vegas and Boulder City.  Henderson is a town emerged with arts and every year hundreds of locals and out of towners come to visit for the 13^th annual ‘ArtFest of Henderson’.

The art festival stretches over a mile long and houses an array of artists showcasing and selling their art. This year they have different venues happening at the festival to quench everyone’s pallet. For example, a chalk art contest where artist draw huge murals depicting many of the artists visions, two stages where musicians and live bands entertain the spectators, authors meet and greet as well as a live reading of their books, the ‘National Guard’s’ obstacle courses to keep the kids physically active, and about a dozen different food and beverage vendors to supply festival goers with local restaurants cuisines.

As I walk the festival grounds, I see the art scene is flourishing; so many artists with different backgrounds of art fill the space, presenting fantastic artwork that could fill up a museum ten times over by captivating your senses as you stop and gaze at some of the pieces. There are more artists here than last year which brings a unique take to what you normally see, especially with the many Las Vegas hotel/casino museums. It is such a great thing because it takes you from the clandestine settings that many Vegas tourists are use to; you only think that such beautiful art is only at the Bellagio, Wynn, or Venetian but when you get to the ‘ArtFest of Henderson’ your perspective of fine art is opened to a dynamic scope of everything in between. It’s a stunning and refreshing feeling that you just take in and appreciate.

I noticed many of the artists I’ve met also have this appreciation for the ‘ArFest‘ for it is one of the biggest art festivals in Nevada. They explain that with the amount of people that come to the two day event it boosts their profits by a large significance, especially with the way the economy is right now. It seems like the love of art that the spectators have is making them buy art as if it was water.

However, no matter whether the economy is stable or not that wouldn’t stop the artists or spectators from being out there.  The ‘ArtFest’ is such a fun event that artists are happy and proud to show off their artwork, enthused to interact with spectators, and the fact that it’s a terrific atmosphere to be in. The live music playing as you watch the creative chalk artists create larger than life size art,  checking out one of a kind metal work creations that resemble your favorite animals while dining on great food; thinking to yourself how they designed such interesting work fashioned from metal is nothing less than intriguing.  Is acrylic more your liking? If so, you could watch painters do an open air paint demonstration, meanwhile sipping a cocktail from one of the many drink booths.

No matter what your interests are in art, the ‘ArtFest of Henderson’ has it in one form or another. You just have to bare the one mile walk to find it… = )

For more information about the ‘ArtFest of Henderson’ visit:

http://www.888artfest.com/art-shows/nevada/artfest-of-henderson

Article by Jasper Gonzales

Every year during mid April, Boulder City has its annual fine arts festival; show casing a wide array of art; many artists  from all over the west coast come to the art festival, located at Bicentennial Park in Boulder City, Nevada, just west of the ‘Hoover Dam’;  artist come to show off their work ranging from oil paintings to sculptures.

It’s always a unique experience to be here every year because it’s never the same; wandering the aisles through the festival is always a treat because you may never know what wonderful item you may find here. And whatever your  price range is, buyers don’t need to worry, wallets won’t be harmed here, beautiful giclee reproductions are here for  more than half the price of their original counterparts, and you’ll be able to find many items at different price ranges.

You could spend a whole day here; just outside the festival is Boulder City itself, an art filled town that has had its hands embracing the arts for years. No matter where you go you will see the history of Boulder City’s artists displaying their  art all over the town. It’s an art lovers dream.

There are many things to do here in Boulder City aside from the art festival, from the many quaint shops here or the fabulous dining experiences from a wide selection of restaurants, to their art galleries like the ‘Artist Guild of Boulder City’ gallery or the art boutique shop of ‘Eclectica’, there is too much fun here in Boulder City.

But don’t take it from me; you have to see it for yourself…

For more information about the ‘Boulder City Arts Festival’ visit:

http://www.bouldercityartguild.com/ArtFestival.html

Article by Jasper Gonzales

It’s that time of the year again where the film festivals open up like a dam that has opened it’s floodgates. The artistic creativity of hungry directors flow like the rushing water that is engulfing the masses of thirsty individuals wanting a new original idea that will hopefully stir up the film industry.

One of the film festivals this year that is getting the attention of spectators (which might I add) also includes the ‘Screen Actors Guild’ is the ‘Dam Short Film Festival’ that is held every year in Boulder City, Nevada; just a stone’s throw away from the glitzy glamour of Las Vegas.

You’d expect the film festival with it being miles away from the entertainment capital of the world to be over shadowed by shows like ‘Cirque Du Soleil’ & the vast night clubs that line up the strip, but instead crowds flock in from all over the west coast to get a glimps of the vast potential of the independent film community, most of them; are young college student wanting to make an impact & solidify their names among director giants like ‘Night of the Living Dead’s’ George Romero and ‘Monty Pythons’ Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones.

See, unlike there big financed counter parts like the ‘Tribeca Film Festival’ and ‘Sundance’ who are backed by the likes of Robert De Niro and Robert Redford, the ‘Dam Short Film Festival’ was created in 2003 by Lee and Anita Lanier who both, like De Niro and Redford, loved independent films. Lee & Anita loved it so much that they would travel the U.S., Canada and Europe just to see them.

The festival, in it’s sixth year running, has grown so much in popularity that they have more film submissions growing year by year & have definitely gotten the attention from major sponsors like ‘The Art Institute of Las Vegas’. So when you think to yourself about catching a flick at your nearest multiplex, don’t forget that there are many alternatives as in film festivals that can quench your thirst for the next big thing in film expirence…

For more information on the ‘Dam Short Film Festival’ visit: http://damshortfilm.org/

Article by Jasper Gonzales