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| CAD In The News
Friday, July 27, 2007
Neighborhood art blooms
Festival will show off a changing community
BY ANDREA GOODELL, The Holland Sentinel
The Columbia Art District is ready to bloom with a fall arts festival.
The Holland City Council on Wednesday approved the festival for Sept. 22.
Now the neighbors who have been planning the festival for a year need the volunteers and artists, said Linda Blauwkamp, who operates the Leaf and Bean II, 451 Columbia Ave.
"I have a list of all the art galleries of local artists that I will be contacting," she said.
One of 12 commercial districts in the city, the Columbia Art District has been a home to artists, said filmmaker Hopwood DePree, who recently established TicTock Studios at 433 Columbia Ave.
"It's kind of a natural progression," he said, "We're looking at the Columbia Art Festival as a kick-off event for the district."
The opening of TicTock spurred the district's development, said Tina Perry, city neighborhood commercial coordinator.
The district was not one of the original ones set up by the city, Perry said.
" They came to us and said, 'Hey, what about us?'" she said. "They made that happen."
Organizers hope the festival and the established artists who work and live in the district will grow together.
"We're not trying to be a shop district. We're trying to be an artists' district," Blauwkamp said.
The Columbia Art District Association, a nonprofit formed earlier this year, is also selling engraved bricks to raise money for a beautification project slated for 2009.
Art comes in many forms, Blauwkamp said, and the Columbia Art Festival -- and district -- wants all of them. Organizers will recruit sculptors, painters, musicians, performance artists and restaurants for the event.
"We'll be asking chefs from local restaurants to create food art that they'll be displaying," Blauwkamp said.
Local beer and wine makers will be asked to stock a beer tent.
An outdoor film may be part of the one-day festival, Perry said. And organizers are planning an annual contest to find the next year's festival poster. The 2008 winner will be announced at this year's festival.
"We're inviting any kind of artist to create a poster of their sculpture, to create a poster of their play," she said.
The city offers organizational support to the districts. Perry helps business owners and residents in commercial districts to work together, she said.
Organizers are staying away from the art and craft show or sale model.
Interaction is key, they said. The Holland Area Arts Council is planning a chalk art mural. Kids and adults will be able to create their own pieces of art to put into one mural.
The festival will close off Columbia Avenue between 18th and 20th streets and 19th Street east of Columbia. Two stages -- one at each end of the street -- will showcase music and performance art.
Along the street, artists will display their work and techniques.
"People can see different artists doing what they do," Blauwkamp said.
AREAS
Holland Commercial Districts:
Central Park -- Myrtle Avenue and South Shore Drive
Columbia Art District -- Columbia Avenue and 19th Street
North Columbia District -- Columbia Avenue, north of the art district; the two often act as one
South Shore Village -- South Shore Drive near Ottawa Avenue
Shops at 13th Street and Maple Avenue
Washington Square -- Washington Avenue between 18th and 19th streets
Central Place -- River Avenue and 16th Street
West Central Place -- Pine Avenue and 16th Street
State Street at 24th Ave.
Lincoln Avenue Shops -- at 32nd Street
Maplewood -- near Lincoln Avenue
Holland Heights -- Eighth Street and Waverly Road
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