Mark your calendars: Tempe Festival of the Arts to return this month

PHOENIX — Valley residents and spring training visitors alike will be able to round out March by visiting the Tempe Festival of the Arts.

The free festival will be held over the weekend of March 23.

More than 375 artists will display their work, including paintings, photography, ceramics and woodwork. There will also be six musicians performing each day on two different stages, along with more than two dozen street performers

Interactive programs are available for kids. And don’t worry about adult needs – two beer and win gardens await consumption. For $10-$25, you can purchase commemorative glasses and drink glasses from local wineries and distilleries.

This festival began as an autumn art show 50 years ago. It expanded to a semi-annual schedule almost a decade after.

Fourty-one years later, the Tempe Festival of the Arts has blossomed into a nationally-renowned festival that receives more than 500 applications from artists around North America.

While many booth vendors sell artwork, others interact directly with visitors through talents such as face painting and palm reading.

The event is experimenting with new features as well. At the Unplugged Lounge, people can listen to Southwest acoustic music. There is also a new Songwriter’s Space, which features singers and writers.

The semi-annual festival attracts almost 225,000 people per weekend. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Related

Northbound Loop 101 Pima Freeway reopens near Tempe-Scottsdale border after crash‘Really hypocritical’: Jay Feely hits Amish Shah on data centers but agrees on water policyPinal County Sheriff’s Office investigating death of 19-year-old manWATCH: Jay Feely, Amish Shah debate differing visions for Arizona 1st Congressional DistrictPolice investigating after early-morning shooting in Phoenix leaves 2 men deadCongressional candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia reports sexual assault