A smoky but successful Kimball Arts Festival

The 2021 Kimball Arts Festival. Photo: Parker Malatesta

PARK CITY, Utah. — Following a pandemic year off, artists from all over the country covered Main Street this weekend with a diverse mosaic of different art mediums for the 52nd annual Kimball Arts Festival. On display were paintings, pottery, jewelry, rugs, digital art, sculptures, wood, photography, metalwork, and ceramics (to name a few).

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“Good to be back on Main Street,” said Nancy Stoaks, a curator with the Kimball Arts Center. She said she was really excited to see how engaged people were with the Studio on Main activities. She hopes visitors were inspired to come back.

Lee Drake, a designer who makes jewelry from Beaverton, Oregon, said it was his first art festival in 18 months. He said he was doing well sales-wise on Sunday morning, saying the festival had a “good pace.”

Signe Grushovenko, a painter who works alongside her husband, said the Kimball Arts Center had “done a really beautiful job.” It was only her second festival since the pandemic and her third time at Kimball.

Michael Hayes, a glassmaker from North Carolina, said it was clear people were ready to break out of their pandemic shells. He said after spending a year just sitting inside their houses, they found out they needed to decorate it and make it look better. He said he was busy all weekend with customers. “Good to get back into the flow,” he said.

Steve and Bonnie Harmston, painters who were at their tenth Kimball Festival, said it’s changed a lot over the years. They’ve seen a more focused inclusion of the larger modern work that made up some of the street corners. They also added that the impact of parking is clear — whether that’s a lack of spaces for people to get there or potential customers unable to haul large items.

Park City Municipal announced that Old Town parking was at capacity every day of the festival no later than 1 pm.

Missy Reitner Cameron, a painter who went on to win best of show, said this is her favorite festival. She said it’s the most organized and highest quality art event she’s ever been to.

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“Our team spent the year thinking about how to safely serve our community knowing that visual art is best appreciated in person,” said Aldy Milliken, Executive Director of the Kimball Arts Center. “Last weekend, we facilitated thousands of conversations between makers and art lovers outdoors on Main Street. The 52nd Annual Park City Kimball Arts Festival illustrated, once again, that Park City is a dynamic creative hub with a variety of cultural offerings.”

The 2021 festival achieved financial projections, according to Meisha Ross, who runs marketing and public relations at the Kimball Art Center. All revenue from the festival directly supports the Kimball Art Center.

You can check out the other best of show winners below.