The Crested Butte Arts Festival, August 1st and 2nd, celebrates its 37th year in 2009. What began as an informal gathering of mostly local crafters selling their wares has evolved into one of the top 5 fine art and fine craft shows in Colorado, according to the Larry Harris List.

The Crested Butte Arts Festival (CBAF) is a non-profit, volunteer organization dedicated to the preservation of the arts in and around Crested Butte.

The mission of the Crested Butte Arts Festival is to encourage and promote the artistic and cultural environment of the Upper East River Valley. In addition to our annual arts festival, the CBAF supports other arts organizations in the community in the form of modest art grants and through collaboration and partnerships.

The Crested Butte Arts Festival is staged on Elk Avenue, the main street of Crested Butte, a National Historic District. The open-air booths are surrounded by eclectic shops, upscale boutiques, galleries, and fine restaurants. The pedestrian only festival grounds also include the Ragged Mountain Entertainment Stage, which features a variety of musical acts throughout the weekend; Culinary Court offering delectable fare at affordable prices from many of Crested Butte's highly lauded restaurants; Artist Demonstration Tent featuring intimate interactive demonstrations by several exhibiting artists; and Art Alley, a hands-on, interactive arts and crafts area for children ages 2-12 and their parents. The festival is open Saturday and Sunday and all aspects of it are free!

The Festival caters to a variety of tastes and strives for a well-balanced show featuring fine artists and craft-persons in the following media: Ceramics, Drawing & Graphics, Fiber, Glass, Jewelry, Metal, Mixed Media, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Wearable Art and Wood.

Entry is by invitation only and the competition increases each year. The 2007 move to Zapplication, a digital, online application process with national appeal, increased the Festival's profile dramatically. The Crested Butte Arts Festival is gaining national recognition as a quality show with a savvy, art buying audience.

Visual Artist Applications for the 2009 festival will open in November through www.zapplication.org

After a competitive jury process, artists will be notified of their status in early April. The 5 member jury is comprised of working artists, museum curators and art professionals, and changes each year. In 2008 we received 604 applicants for the 150 available spots.

Reported total sales in 2008 were $564,663 with artist's average sales around $3,600. Several artists reported sales in the $10,000 to $15,000 range.

BJS (Brenda) Turner is a practicing artist from Savannah, Georgia. She is affiliated with the Horne and Thistle Gallery and Gallery 440 in Savannah and the Lucille Lucas Gallery in Crested Butte, CO.

Throughout her forty-plus year career, Turner has worked in multiple mediums including acrylic, oil, sculpture, collage, silk screen and lithography. She now works primarily in watercolor, and more recently in gouache watercolor. Her latest works have been accepted into 25 regional and national shows, garnering her 10 awards. Turner has also sequed from using opaque gouache into painting in oil again.

Don't miss your opportunity to own a limited edition, signed & numbered Giclee Print of Turner's "Umbrellas On Elk". Giclees are printed on 100% cotton fine art paper and are available for $100 while supplies last.