Judges Announced For Amish Acres 56th Arts & Crafts Festival

Richard Pletcher, founder of the Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival and Jennifer Pletcher Wysong, Marketplace Coordinator are pleased to announce the judges for the 56th Annual Arts & Crafts Festival.

The highlight of Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival is the awarding of over $5,000 in cash prizes from entries in the Marketplace. Each year two judges are selected to pick the prize winners in the two and three dimensional categories. This year's judges come from diverse backgrounds and will provide unique perspective to the process. The winners are put on permanent display in the Blue Ribbon Art Museum in Amish Acres Barn Loft wine tasting room.

The judges are Randall Roberts and Jennifer Shaw. Mr. Roberts is the assistant curator for Midwest Museum of American Art. Mr. Roberts is involved in the management and research of the museum's permanent collection where he helps to coordinate the development and implementation of exhibition programs.

He has been a juror for several art fairs and competitions within the Michiana region including the annual Chesterton Art Fair and Taste of the Gardens at Wellfield Botanic Garden in Elkhart. Roberts is a graduate from Indiana University and was awarded a Fellowship Grant for research in architectural history. Currently, he is developing a graduate thesis and will continue his academic endeavors at Indiana.

Mrs. Shaw is a graduate of NorthWood High School in Nappanee. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree with an art education area major from Taylor University and a Masters of Education degree from Olivet Nazarene University. Her career as an art educator spanned 33 years of teaching in various schools within the WaNee Community School system. During her years of teaching in the Nappanee and Wakarusa communities, she had the opportunity to teach art in every school and at every age level in all grades from 1-12.

She continues to be involved in education as an adjunct faculty member at Bethel College where she supervises student teacher candidates. Jennifer is a member of the Nappanee Arts Council and the Elkhart Art League.

Festival hours are Thursday-Saturday (August 2-August 4) 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday (August 5) 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, and 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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