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BAYarts Art and Music Festival set for June 10

For the past 15 years, BAYarts, 28795 Lake Road in Bay Village, has worked to highlight local creators from Northeast Ohio.

On June 10, the facility will hold its annual art and music festival at the Cleveland Metroparks’ Huntington Reservation.

The event will host over 75 different vendors and artists and musicians of all kinds, according to Nancy Heaton, executive director of BAYarts.

It will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and hopes to help the Ohioan artist community in any way it can, Heaton said.

“We do it every year,” she said. “It’s just a way to showcase a lot of our local handmade artists.

“And also, we have great music. It’s just a great event, open to everyone. Free parking, free admission; it showcases all our beautiful gardens on campus.”

One of the unique things about the BAYarts festival, Heaton said, is the free admission to both patrons and artists.

Rather than having artists pay fees like most festivals, BAYarts allows them to showcase their work for free, and pays them afterward, she said.

“We like to showcase local artists, and also make it affordable for them,” Heaton said. “A lot of these festivals, the fees to get in are very prohibitive.

“We wanted to do an alternative (festival) that’s affordable for the artists, and it just kind of snowballed from there.”

New artists tend to join the fleet of recurring creators every year, creating a cycle of both new and familiar works, Heaton said.

The reception from the community has been nothing short of extraordinary, she said.

In addition to the artists, the show will feature crafters, food trucks and Ohio-based bluegrass band Small Craft Advisory.

“It’s very popular,” Heaton said. “Some years, we get well over a couple thousand people to come.

“This is sort of like our kickoff to all our summer events.”

The festival will usher in BAYarts’ summer schedule, including weekly Thursday markets, and free concerts each Sunday night, Heaton said.

Additionally, BAYarts offers a consignment shop option for artists, she said.

“Artists can bring their work and sell it year-round, you know, as opposed to just doing these festivals,” Heaton said. “We give them the platform to sell it year-round.

“They drop it off, we do all the work. We market it, we sell it, (and) they get a check once a month.”

BAYarts also will celebrate its 75th anniversary this year, Heaton noted.

This year’s summer events will all lead up to an anniversary ball Sept. 9, the group’s yearly Moondance event,” she said.

“This year is big,” Heaton said. “We have a lot of little members parties and things like that, but it culminates at our Moondance event.

“It’s going to be our jubilee celebration where we’ll really focus on the anniversary.”

The event is not exclusive to Bay Village residents, Heaton said, and the festival looks to welcome in patrons from around the state.

She encouraged anyone with a love of art and music to attend the show.

“We say BAYarts, we’re in Bay Village, but we are open to all Northeast Ohio,” Heaton said. “People come from the other side of town; people come to our events as a destination.

“I think people appreciate (us). You come in, you’re welcomed, you can’t believe that all this is here.”

Those looking to get involved with BAYarts as an artist or musician, can email info@bayarts.net.