Alley Art Festival will return to its home on the last Saturday of August in downtown Aurora. The popular, grassroots art festival will be back on Water Street Mall from noon to 5 p.m. and expand to the nearby riverwalk, Millennium Plaza on Stolp Avenue, and Gallery 1904 at 1 E. Benton Street.
Celebrating its 11th year, the festival is presented by the Aurora Downtown nonprofit group and will feature more than 65 local artists from Aurora and nearby communities.
“This year, we’re placing the artists in wide-open public spaces downtown to allow for social distancing, and we’re featuring entertainment at the Millennium Plaza gazebo; it’ll provide a flow through the core of downtown while also including the business district in the eventful day,” said Marissa Amoni, manager of Aurora Downtown.
The annual festival highlights locally made art, jewelry, pottery, handmade goods, and more. It provides an opportunity to meet and support local artists, Amoni said.
Live music will start at noon at Millennium Plaza with The Davenport Project, then Eastern Fire Belly Dance at 2 p.m. Kovacs and Company will perform at 3 p.m. and Cartridge B Sides at 4 p.m.
Nonprofit vendors include Fox Valley Robotics, Aurora Regional Fire Museum, and Culture Stock.
Food vendors will be near City Hall, 44 E. Downer Place, and include Modest Coffee, Holy Pierogi, Harvey’s Fire Box, and Home Run Hot Dogs and Lemonade.
The Aurora Public Art will be host to Bom’ da Lot, Aurora’s first street art exhibition space featuring more than a dozen local artists painting murals along Middle Avenue south of New York Street.
“Fellow festival founder Jenn Byrne Evans is the city’s director of public art, and she is bringing live art to the day with several downtown mural projects including Bom’ da Lot,” Amoni said.
Amoni started the festival in 2010 with the help of Evans and artists Lisa Gloria and Nate Miller. The festival is sponsored by Aurora Downtown, Vizo Arts, and the City of Aurora government.
A full artist and venue lineup is available at alleyartaurora.com. For more information about downtown events, visit auroradowntown.org.
—Aurora Downtown