Eagle Rock Art Guild celebrating 75th anniversary with the Sidewalk Art Festival
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IDAHO FALLS — The Eagle Rock Art Guild is turning 75. What better way to celebrate than the annual Sidewalk Art Festival in downtown Idaho Falls? Guild members have been working for months to bring the Sidewalk Art Festival to life, and now you are invited to the party.
The art guild, a volunteer-run non-profit organization, started the festival 68 years ago and has kept it going strong through the decades. According to the art guild’s reckoning, the festival attracts about 15,000 people.
But this year is special.
“As it is the 75th anniversary, we are going all-out to truly give the event a festival feel,” the art guild’s president, Dawn Langston, said in an email to EastIdahoNews.com. “We have been working really hard to make this year’s event really fun.”
Visitors can look forward to a DJ, live music, a kids’ art activity booth and a lot more.
The festival always hosts a variety of food vendors. This year, visitors will have food choices that include Villa Coffehouse,Kona Ice and Sugared Moose Mini Donuts.
“The whole idea is for it to have a festival atmosphere but featuring art, a lot of which is locally done,” guild secretary Darlene Gerry said.
The festival is welcoming over 50 vendors this weekend. Among the artisans will be photographers, wood carvers and iron workers.
“There’s some amazing pencil drawings, too,” guild member Kinda Metcalf said. “You name it, it’s here.”
“It’s a good opportunity for local artists to show what they can do,” Gerry said. They don’t get to do that often enough, she said.
“Come on out and take a look,” Metcalf encouraged.
Anyone interested in joining the Eagle Rock Art Guild can do so at a discount at the festival. Just look for the guild’s booth with the helpful volunteers.
The Sidewalk Art Festival couldn’t have succeeded over the last 75 years without the support of the community, organizers said. The guild is looking forward to a long future.
The Sidewalk Art Festival is free to the public. All proceeds from the event will be used for procurement of a permanent location for the guild – a goal it has been working on the past few years.
The fun will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday and go until 6 p.m. On Sunday, visitors can catch the festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Sidewalk Art Festival is family-friendly and will be held on the east bank of the Snake River greenbelt.