Changing it Up at the SOBO Arts Festival

June 17, 2016

The SOBO arts district in Boyne City has truly become a mini local phenomenon. As this formerly quiet neighborhood has evolved, adding more events, shops, and opportunities to downtown Boyne City, so, too, has the district’s SOBO Arts Festival.

INTERACTIVE ART

"Traditionally, the SOBO Arts Festival has featured artists in booths, selling their art," explained Lori Meeder, Boyne City Main Street program director. "But this year, we’re not having the artist booths. A lot of our neighboring communities do that, and they do it really well! Instead, we’ve changed the festival up a bit this year so that it’s more interactive and hands-on for our guests."

When Meeder says "hands-on," she means it. There will be a trio of art walls – a paint wall, a chalk wall, and a graffiti wall – on which guests can leave their mark, and there also will be a adult chalk drawing competition – "You know, the kind where the drawings are very intricate, and some of them even look 3-D," said Meeder. Local artists, including Sarah Christianson and Julie Stratton, will paint and sell a special series of chairs, with proceeds going back into the festival.

WATCH AND PARTICIPATE

"Another major feature of the new art festival format will be demonstrations," Meeder said. "You’ll be able to watch people working with mosiac tiles, making puppets, doing pottery and woodcarving." And on the competitive side of things, the SOBO Arts Festival will host a plein air painting competition (where participants paint outdoors and complete a painting in one day), with a reception afterward to showcase all of the artwork. The Walkabout Sculpture tour is also ongoing in Boyne City, with six of the current sculptures on their way out, and nine new ones being brought in so there will be a dozen total to view. "We’ll be offering a map so you can take your own walking Walkabout Sculpture tour," Meeder said.

ARTISTIC AMBIANCE

Live music, dance flash mobs, living statues, and more will add to the festive outdoor ambiance throughout the event, and there will be plenty of food as well. "This festival is right in the heart of downtown, so you’re right by so many of Boyne City’s great restaurants," Meeder said. "Thick ’N Juicy Diner, our local hamburger place, also will be bringing their food cart downtown." Meeder added that with so many different things to do, the SOBO Arts Festival should appeal to even more people than before. "Our community is just a fun community to be in," she said, "plus everybody loves art!"

The 2016 SOBO Art Festival will take place June 24–26, 2016. For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit soboartfestival.com.