Art Vendors Enjoy Good Support Even In The Heat

Many people braved the early rain and the heat to browse the creative work at Art on the Square Saturday.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The art tradition continued this weekend in the heart of Oskaloosa. The 48th annual Art on the Square sprang to life in a morning shower, and survived the heat.

Artists from as far away as South Dakota to those residing right here in Oskaloosa displayed and shared their creative work, in hopes of their work finding a new home.

Vicki Jones, an Oskaloosa resident, said that catching up with friends she hadn’t seen in awhile was fun, but also enjoyed picking up a print from wildlife artist, Russ Duerksen.

Jones was also a winner in the $1000 raffle drawing, which enabled her to purchase a second Duerksen print.

Melanie Mackey said, “I’ve been in Oskaloosa for 6 years, and I always look forward to Art on the Square. It was a beautiful day and I purchased an adorable handmade purse. I always love seeing the variety of [what] talented local artists have to offer”.

Sarah Kargol, with FACE of Mahaska County, commented, “It was wonderful to see the Oskaloosa community out supporting the visual arts! Matt [Kargol] and I were asked to be judges. We were impressed by the quality and caliber of art that was on display in this year’s festival. It was really challenging to choose award winners. That was a problem we were happy to have! We are looking forward to our community’s continued support of the arts and visual arts activities and events sponsored by FACE and the Oskaloosa Art Center in the coming year!

Also, history was coming alive with the help of some TAG students who each adopted an historic building around the square, where they displayed a slideshow and shared some history of the buildings they adopted.

Oskaloosa Main Street Director Karen Hafner said she was happy with how well the day went, and thanked all of the volunteers that helped to make it possible, including some very helpful Boy Scouts.