How to go
What: Summerfair
When: 2-8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Coney Island, 6201 Kellogg Ave., just east of Cincinnati
Cost: $10 (adults), children 12 and younger get in free
More info: (513) 232-8230 or www.summerfair.org
For 47 years, art lovers have been coming to Summerfair, now at Coney Island, to admire artists from all over the country working in virtually every type of media. Summerfair co-chair Jeff Martin said that the nature of the event often prevents patrons from mingling with the artists themselves, which Martin hopes will change with the inaugural Summerfair After Hours event, occurring Saturday night after that day of the fair formally ends.
“When people are interested in a given piece of art, the artist is often involved with other customers,” he said. “This will give people a chance to meet artists and ask questions in a relaxed setting. Jen Chapin, daughter of (1970s singer-songwriter) Harry Chapin, will be performing.”
Summerfair regularly showcases more 300 artists working in photography, drawing, ceramics, fibers, mixed media, glass, jewelry, metal, painting, sculpture, printmaking and wood. In a way, Summerfair After Hours is a follow-up to the Little Black Dress event, a more formal event that takes place in Coney Island’s Moonlite Gardens. LBD began in 2010 and was intended to attract younger patrons to Summerfair.
“It has become a stand-alone event,” Martin said. “It’s a fashion show geared toward young females. Professional women can talk to the models and check out the jewelry, which is one of the most popular (items of the fair). Last year, we had a scavenger hunt that allowed them to walk the grounds of Summerfair and see what it was all about, and hopefully buy a ticket for the following day.”
Summerfair holds a awards banquet on Friday night, where non-affiliated judges will hand out “best of” awards for each category, culminating with the “best of show” award. Last year’s winner was a man who handcrafted small statues that would be attached to cuckoo clocks.
“The creativity is amazing,” Martin said. “There’s always something in photography you’ve never seen before. There’s people who do needlepoint, and I don’t mean crocheting. I mean needlepoint that looks like an oil painting when you see it from a distance.”
Summerfair is the main fundraiser for Summerfair Cincinnati, a year-round nonprofit that gives money to struggling local and regional artists.
“We’re not one of the biggest (art fairs), but we try to be one of the best,” Martin said. “We try to help everybody we can. We’d like to have more, but we’re a little landlocked. We’re just lucky that everyone knows where Coney Island is and it’s easy to get to.”
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