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More than sixty artists are planning to take part in Oriental’s first Fall Celebration of Fine Arts this coming Saturday, September 15.

Organizers Marlene Miller and Judy Wayland of Oriental say artists from Oriental, Pamlico County and beyond — Raleigh, Greensboro, Morehead City and Beaufort — will line Hodges Street from Broad to Wall.

Judy Wayland and Marlene Miller at the Town Dock, taking in the scope of the September 15 arts fest in Oriental. The organizers says it’ll run the length of Hodges Street. The section of the waterfront near the Town Dock will be closed to vehicles to allow more room for the pedestrians and artists’ booths.

Among the art on display — and for sale — will be paintings, photography, pottery, jewelry, stained glass and for those looking to accessorize a home — both floor cloths and ceiling tiles.

Marlene Miller says there will be several plein-air painters out in the plein air, painting. (Definition of “plein air”: A painting done outside rather than in a studio. It comes from the French en plein air, meaning ‘in the open air’.)

For the young Jackson Pollocks in the crowd, there’ll be an opportunity to shoot paint-filled balloons at a canvas. (on which children can then more (relatively) precisely finger paint.

The show is the first event of the newly founded Eastern Carolina Arts Association — based in Oriental — which Miller and Wayland, was set up to promote the arts.

The idea, says Miller, is to “provide a venue for new artists.” As such, the organizers didn’t charge an entry fee but rather are asking artists to donate 7% of their earnings – up to $30 – to the Heartworks charity in Bayboro.

Some local musicians will be playing acoustic music along the route of the arts fest.

The festival runs from 9am to 4pm.

Posted Monday September 10, 2007 by Melinda Penkava