Lubbock Arts Festival 2008
By Julie Stoddart
More than 20,000 Lubbock natives passed through the doors of the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center to pledge their allegiance to the preservation of the arts in Lubbock.
The Lubbock Arts Alliance held its 30st annual Lubbock Arts Festival April 17 – 20, 2008. The theme for this year’s festival, “Deep in the Art of Texas,” was created by the Lubbock Arts Alliance’s board of directors. Board member Maria Gonzales helped to coordinate this year’s event.
“It takes a while to conceptualize it,” Gonzales said. “Last year we had a record number of art patrons, so we knew we needed to make it even better for 2008.”
By adding new events and competitions, we could appeal to different markets within the Lubbock community, Gonzales said. We also try to split up the events so we can bring in all kinds of people.
The Arts Festival is a fundraiser for the Lubbock Arts Alliance, raising money to keep art programs in schools and promote art awareness by appealing to different art-lovers.
Each year, the Arts Festival is split up into four days with different events on each day.
Thursday evening was the opener of the art-filled weekend with special guests like visual artist Duward Campbell and the Lubbock Avalanche Journal’s Don Graf to kick off the celebration.
Lubbock art patron Holly Gossett said the first night is a great start to the weekend.
“It’s always so much fun,” Gossett said. “They cater in all these yummy hors d’oeuvres and there is so much going on. They really make the first night special to set the tone for the rest of the weekend.”
For Gossett, the first night is the best because it is a smaller crowd.
“You have to buy tickets,” Gossett said. “Not everyone buys a ticket for the first night, so it is all the people that love to come every year and are passionate about art. It is nice to keep it intimate.”
Friday was a busy day for the Arts Festival as over two thousand children in Lubbock take the day off to enjoy the art.
Lubbock Independent School District teacher Aubrey Lee said her students prepare for the Art Festival weeks in advance.
“They get so excited,” Lee said. “They work on their own artwork and have a lot of creative freedom. They look forward to all the plays and fun things that the Art Festival has to offer.”
With competitions like the Young Artist and Young Writer competitions, students can actively participate in the Art Festival, Lee said.
Saturday brought art patrons and athletes alike, as the Art Festival hosted a 15 K run, sponsored by the West Texas Running Club. Tom Weis served as the coordinator and said this year’s run was the best yet.
“We had such a great turn-out,” Weis said. “Kids, adults, college students – we had it all. There is a small entry fee for the run, and we really raised a lot of money to donate to the Arts Alliance.”
For the non-athletes, demonstrating artists and entertainers took the stage at the Exhibit Hall.
Sunday closes the event with a marathon of competitions.
In the morning, an ice-carving competition brought out a large crowd of spectators cheering the artists to carve angel wings and animals.
In the afternoon, a growing crowd surrounded the “Golden Fork” Culinary Competition, a ticketed event that patrons like Neil Carstons think is worth the price.
“I look forward to the cooking competition every time,” Carstons said. “The people who compete always make such good food and the crowd always gets to be the judge. I never walk away from that part of the festival disappointed.”
Chefs, athletes, teachers and children all had a little something to enjoy at the Arts Festival 2008.
The Lubbock Arts Alliance raised more than $50 thousand dollars with the help of sponsor AT&T.
For more information on how to get involved in the Lubbock art scene, visit www.lubbockarts.org or call 806 – 744 – ARTS.