Sidewalk Arts Festival Celebrates 55 Years

Summer is drawing to a close and that means it's time for one of the area's longest running festivals. The 55th Annual Sidewalk Arts Festival is Saturday, September 8 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to this fun-filled day is FREE. This annual event is a fundraiser for the Visual Arts Center at the Washington Pavilion.

The region's largest one-day outdoor arts festival takes place in Downtown Sioux Falls on the streets surrounding the Washington Pavilion: Main and Dakota Avenues between 10th and 12th Streets, 11th Street from Main west to Minnesota Avenue and in the parking lots south of the Pavilion.

More than 300 fine art, folk art, craft, nonprofit and food booths are scheduled to take part. The Great Western Bank parking ramp will be converted into a food court with several food and beverage vendors. Additionally, there will be several great activities for children in the Children's Studio, located in the parking lot south of the Washington Pavilion.

At 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Jason Folkerts, Director of Exhibits & Collections, will be presenting a special outdoor painting demonstration.

Additional FREE entertainment will be offered in the Paladino Hohm Sculpture Garden located on the north side of the Washington Pavilion. The entertainment schedule includes:

• Singing Boys of Sioux Falls
• Sound Cascade - Sweet Adeline Chorus
• LiRa Dance Company
• Moxton Road
• BritZa Dance
• Good Night Theatre Collective
• Mogen's Heroes
• charActors
• Sioux Empire Community Theater
• Kirby Science Discovery Center

The Visual Arts Center and the Kirby Science Discovery Center museums inside the Washington Pavilion will be open with reduced admission.

Major sponsors of the Sidewalk Arts Festival include: Billion Toyota Scion, Blend Interactive, Howalt-McDowell Insurance, Pepsi, Bath Fitter, Dynamic Spine Chiropractic Health Center, Upper Cervical of Sioux Falls, Gardner's Wisconsin Cheese, Your Home Improvement Company, Xcel Energy and Highest Health Chiropractic. In-kind sponsors include Party Land, Lacey Rentals Inc., Coffea, Pepsi and Waste Management. Pop booths will be sponsored by First Premier Bank Premier Bankcard, Citi, RL Real Estate Group and Wells Fargo. Media sponsors are Midwest Communications and KSFY.

The Washington Pavilion is the region's home for the arts, entertainment and science. Located in a beautifully renovated historic building in downtown Sioux Falls, it is one of only a few facilities in the world to bring together under one roof the performing arts, visual arts and interactive science. The vast array of high quality programming and educational activities available through the Husby Performing Arts Center, Kirby Science Discovery Center, Visual Arts Center and the Community Learning Center ensures that people of all ages and walks of life can rely upon the Washington Pavilion to entertain, inspire, educate and enrich. There is, indeed, something for everyone here. For information about our programs, please call (605) 367-7397 or, (toll free) at 1-877-Wash Pav or visit our website at www.washingtonpavilion.org.

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