Art Week activities in Escanaba celebrates community creativity
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ESCANABA -- Art Week in Escanaba officially begins Sunday, launching a weeklong celebration of the arts that runs through Saturday, Aug. 1.
The festivities open with a performance by the Marquette City Band on Sunday afternoon at the Karas Bandshell in Ludington Park. Beginning at 4 p.m., the 50-member ensemble will kick off the week’s lineup of events with a free concert.
Band Director Stephen Grugin says he hopes the concert will help foster more exchanges among community bands across the Upper Peninsula.
“We want to give some exchange concerts here and there. That is something we should do more of in the U.P. because we have quite a few community bands in our area. For us to come down and give a concert in Escanaba is something exciting for us to do,” said Grugin.
The Escanaba City Band traveled to Marquette two years ago to perform with the Marquette City Band.
Grugin said Sunday’s concert is a way to returning the favor after the Escanaba City Band traveled to Marquette two years ago to perform. The Marquette band will feature a variety of sections from their summer concert series.
“We have some patriotic music, we have music for the kids, just a bunch of fun stuff. Call it the greatest hits of the Marquette City band if you want to,” Grugin said.
After a week of arts programming presented by the Bonifas Arts Center at the Escanaba Marketplace, the Escanaba City Band will perform at 11 a.m. Saturday during the Waterfront Art Festival in Ludington Park.
One of the highlights of Tuesday’s Art Week activities is the nine-week Art @ the Marketplace youth program. Bonifas Education Coordinator Noah Johnson said kids have really enjoyed the summer art program.
“I think what was cool, especially at the painting station when they saw that they could just dip their brush and paint whatever they wanted on their canvas, like ‘Oh, I can be messy,’ that was really, really cool,” Johnson said.
The youth art program is part of a Michigan Arts & Culture Alliance grant with the Escanaba Downtown Development Authority.
Other classes offered through the Bonifas Arts Center include Caricature Drawing on Monday and Making a Fairy House on Thursday. On Friday, Christina Economopoulos will be teaching Greek dancing. All of the classes will be held from 1 to 3. p.m. Information is available at bonifasarts.org.
Music throughout the week includes Music Monday and Escanaba City Band on Wednesday at the Karas Bandshell and Lunch on Ludington on Wednesday at the Escanaba Marketplace.
The Escanaba Pop-UP Market returns Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m., featuring local vendors, food and live music.
Art Week concludes Saturday with the Waterfront Art Festival. More than 50 artists will be in Ludington Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., along with live music and food trucks. The festival has been a summer tradition since 1973.
Following the Waterfront Art Festival, the Marrier Orchestra Revival will perform at the Karas Bandshell. The concert is sponsored by a grant through the Escanaba Recreation Department.
Johnson said Art Week celebrates the importance of creativity in everyday life through music, art education and opportunities for artists to showcase and sell their work. More information is available at escanabadowntown.com.