Arts, music come alive at the 2015 festival set for May 16-17
FLORENCE The 29th Arts Alive is set for Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17, in historic Wilson Park in downtown Florence.
“This year’s event is set to be among the best, a celebration of arts and music,” said Michelle Rupe Eubanks, this year’s festival co-chairperson with her husband, Jeff. “Our committee has worked throughout the past year to create an event that will be memorable, fun, and a true festival of the arts in many of its forms.”
Already, dozens of artists from a variety of backgrounds have signed on to participate in the park as well as the gallery show. Traditional painters, jewelry makers, potters, and wood crafters will have items in the park for sale, and the gallery show is taking shape to be one of the largest in recent years.
Music is also making a comeback at the 2015 Arts Alive.
“Acoustic musicians will be on the lawn next door to the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts so that festival-goers can hear the music, but it won’t overpower conversations at artists’ tents in the park,” Jeff Eubanks said. “Brining music back was also a priority because it is such a vital and important part of our heritage in the Shoals, and it deserves to be celebrated.”
Perhaps the biggest difference between this year’s Arts Alive and events in the past is the renewal of the children’s art area. There will be interactive art opportunities for children as well as a mini-museum display of the children’s art work that was submitted for the contest.
“It’s critical that we engage with the schools early on with art,” 
Michelle Eubanks said. “Children create magical things, and we want to foster that sense of creativity and imagination.”
Further, the Arts Alive website, www.alabamaartsalive.com, has been revamped for ease of use by artists and the community looking for information about the event. A Facebook page has also been established in order to communicate any updates and Arts Alive new in advance of and during the event.
MEDIA RELEASE/ALABAMA ARTS ALIVE
