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| The apple of Rochester’s eye
43rd annual Art & Apples Festival set for Sept. 5-7 By Jennifer S. McDonald ROCHESTER — For anyone who lives in Rochester, Labor Day can only mean one thing: It’s Art & Apples time once again. Though it often signals the beginning of fall — and the end of summer — it brings with it the biggest and best in art, food and entertainment for people throughout the area. Located in the 30-acre Rochester Municipal Park, this year’s festival — the 43rd — is expected to be better than ever. Organizers estimate that more than 100,000 people will flock to Rochester to take in several new items and twists on old favorites for this year’s family-friendly event Sept. 5-7, festival organizer Karen Cuthbertson said. “We work all year ‘round on this, not only the staff, but the steering committee, our volunteers and sponsors,” Cuthbertson said. “I think all of that effort makes the community at large want to come down. It’s very family friendly. There’s a lot of great art, but there’s also a lot of other things to do. It’s great for everyone.” More than 270 artists from around the country, a greatly expanded children’s area, free live entertainment and two food courts will greet festival-goers, and help to raise funds for the festival producer — the Paint Creek Center for the Arts — as well as numerous other local charities, including the Jaycees, Knights of Columbus, Older Persons’ Commission and Rochester Optimist Club. Multiple stages throughout the park will include local and national acts, including music, choreographed dance and gymnastics. The Stoney Creek High School band and Deborah’s Stage Door perform Friday night. The Rochester Adams High School band kicks off Saturday’s festivities at 9 a.m. Sunday welcomes Andrea Redman Dance, the Rochester High School band and other performers. For the second year, Rochester’s Art & Apples was named in the top 30 of Sunshine Artist’s annual survey of the nation’s best 200 fine art and craft festivals. According to Cuthbertson, it’s because festival organizers strive to improve the festival each year. For the second largest fine arts festival in Michigan, almost 1,000 masters of woodworking, glassblowing, pottery, jewelry and painting applied for the show, and only the best were accepted, organizers said. To select who will exhibit, professional artists are hired by the Paint Creek Center for the Arts to determine who makes the cut, Cuthbertson said. Artists who score in the top range are accepted for the show, while others are put on a waiting list. Some don’t even qualify, Cuthbertson added. “It’s a very strict jury process that really creates a cycle of the quality artwork we have at the festival,” Cuthbertson said. “It also makes the artists happy to be grouped with other fine artists. Each year, the whole cycle continues and makes the festival what it is.” One such artist is Rochester Hills resident Rick Burger. Since the show’s beginning, Burger has brought his watercolor paintings to the show, which he said is one of the best in the area. “It’s an area where my customers are local. I’ve also worked on the (Art & Apples) committee,” Burger said. “I think it’s a good charitable organization, and a lot of it goes to the Paint Creek. It helps the community quite a bit.” Burger, who mostly paints landscapes and nautical scenes, quit his job on the design staff for General Motors almost 30 years ago to become a full-time artist. Since then, he’s opened a gallery on East Street in downtown Rochester and teaches watercolor classes twice a week. “I’ve been an artist all my life, and it’s a way of expressing myself,” Burger said. “To make a living at it is gratifying.” Other Art & Apples special events include the second annual Community Pie Contest, which will be held Sept. 6 at 10 a.m. near the main stage. Thirty finalists were asked to bake an apple pie with the chance to win prize packages that include a one-of-a-kind dish created by exhibiting artist Brad Patterson. Kids can enjoy many free activities in the Kids Art Zone, including make-and-take art projects, a life-size art maze, My First Art Purchase, and a special art demonstration hosted by the Detroit Institute of Art. The Detroit Pistons and Detroit Shock will bring their Year Round Hoops Truck Tour, using their interactive exhibit to show off their championship trophies and present video game stations and memorabilia. Admission is free, but a voluntary $5 donation will be accepted at park entrances to support the Paint Creek Center for the Arts. Festival hours are 4-7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5; 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6; and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7. A roundtrip parking shuttle will be available at Rochester High School, at the southwest corner of Livernois and University, for $3. For more information, visit www.artandapples.com or call the festival hotline, (248) 651-4110. You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer S. McDonald at jmcdonald@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1112. The Chrysler Foundation Main Stage Sunday Crittenton Medical Center’s Music Around the Park (In the Kid’s Art Zone)Friday Saturday Sunday Source: Paint Creek Center for the Arts |