55th Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival to Welcome New and Veteran Artists

Nearly 300 booths from 30 states and 200 cities will be converging for the 55th consecutive Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival.

The festival continues to garner national recognition. For the eighth time in ten years, Amish Acres has been selected by the American Bus Association (ABA) as a TOP 100 event in North America.

In addition, the festival was recently recognized by "The Culture Trip", a London based website highlighting events from around the world, as one of Indiana's 10 Summer Events and Festivals "You Shouldn't Miss", solidifying the festival's standing in the top echelon of America's festivals dedicated to the creative arts.

The event opens on Thursday, August 3 and continues through Sunday, August 6.

From North Dakota to Louisiana and California to New York, art truly does make the world of Amish Acres go round during the Arts & Crafts Festival as artists and craftsmen ply their trade and sell their wares around the historic farm's pond. From its modest beginnings in front of the Pletcher Furniture Village, the event grew until it eventually filled the streets and alleys and remained downtown for seven years before moving to Amish Acres Historic Farm. The festival's iconic gazebo has moved locations six times over the decades to accommodate the ever growing marketplace. Now 55 years later, Richard Pletcher who founded the event, and his family continue to produce the festival.

Among the freshman class, Sarah and Erica Larges of E & S Creations from Saginaw, MI bring recycled windows and doors. All the way from Tuscon, Arizona, Lisa & Kurt Aiken come with Food 4 Your Skin: handcrafted soaps, scrubs, and potpourri wreaths. And Harley & Deanna Colwell with Hardee Crafts will be featuring over 40 different brainteasers and puzzles handcrafted in their woodworking shop in Windsor, Maine.

Masters of marquetry, Jeffrey Nelson and Clive Wright return with Hudson River Inlay for the seventh year, featuring wood inlay tables, mirrors. Todd and Jeff Starnes of Latonia, Kentucky return for their eighth year with decorative iron art.

Area artists include Cynthia Diamond of South Bend who creates quilts and pillows from t-shirts. Rebecca Haverstock of Rolling Prairie returns for her 22nd year with Never Enough Time. Rebecca creates primitive folk art with birdhouses, garden stakes, and other seasonal items. Susan and Leonard Filewicz bring 21 flavors of gourmet dips from Bremen, IN. Cardinal Service's Red Bird Art Studio of Warsaw, Indiana, established in 2016 as a creative outlet for individuals with disabilities, will be featuring art from their studio including paintings, pillows and greeting cards.

For the 16th year, Leon Hoffman makes his way to the festival from Tilly, AR with hand-crafted wooden Kitchenware and toys. Linda and Phil Olson of Rockford, MI, are back with their doll clothing line for their 31st year. Richard Stolk of Chesterfield, MO will be flying his banners and windsocks for all to see for the 26th year. We also welcome back Jay Wennersten of Carol Stream, IL, returning for his 30th year with matted and framed etchings.

Renowned watercolor artist Lu Fuller of Maysville, Kentucky returns for his 5th year. Lu received "Best of Show" in 2012 for her transparent and opaque watercolor paintings of landscapes and florals.

The Nappanee Countryside Shoppes Pavilion showcases handmade goods representing over 250 cottage industries surrounding Nappanee, many owned by Amish and Mennonite families. The pavilion, which doubled in size in a single year, now features Rentown Store and Silver Star Leather.

Festival hours are Thursday-Saturday (August 3-August 6) 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday (August 7) from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission price is $7.00 for adults; $6.00 for seniors, , and youth ages 12-17; active military personnel and children under age 12 are free. Parking is also free. No pets are allowed on the festival grounds. Amish Acres is located at 1600 West Market Street, (U.S. 6), one mile west of downtown Nappanee. For more information, call 800-800-4942 or visit online at www.amishacres.com.

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