Alley Art Festival in Aurora is approaching its ninth year Saturday, Aug. 31. It would have been 10 years because the festival started in 2010, but the festival took one year off as a breather.
Always on the last Saturday of August, the festival will continue to have a line of community artists along Water Street Mall in downtown Aurora. Every year, there’s a nice mix of talent ranging from professional artists to hobbyists to those just starting out. The pedestrian walkway turns into a colorful and friendly corridor filled with art for the afternoon.
This year, there will be more than 60 artists, including several from Aurora as well as Montgomery, North Aurora, Batavia, St. Charles, Glen Ellyn, Naperville, Oswego, DeKalb, Homewood, and Sandwich.
Since the festival started, I’ve been able to depend on my friends to not only help me develop the Festival, but to volunteer at the event. I have friends who join me to volunteer at the information booth throughout the day, and friends who run the craft tent.
My friend and an invested Aurora patron of the arts, Jeannie Norris, ran the first few craft tents at Alley Art Festival. Jeannie has a long history of working in childhood education, and her creativity is endless. She began the tradition of creating a paper craft for the children to build and take with them.
Jeannie passed the torch to our mutual friend, Karen Nicholas, after Jeannie became additionally engulfed in the Aurora Film Society, which she helped create, and the Fox Valley Music Foundation, which recently opened The Venue at 21 S. Broadway in Aurora.
Marissa Amoni photo
Nicholas continued the paper craft tradition, adding colorful ideas during her run at the festival’s craft tent. She’s been helped by Sara Knigge and Stephanie Motenko among others.
Over the years, young Alley Art Festival goers have created jumping green, paper frogs; kaleidoscopes; wands; and tissue paper butterflies. Every craft was engaging and educational.
This year, the new Paramount School of the Arts will take over the craft tent at Alley Art Festival. I’m excited to see what crafty creation they’ll offer. I’m excited about the opportunity to have the downtown school participate in our longstanding event.
I’m grateful to all of the volunteers who have helped keep Alley Art Festival going strong, and I’m looking forward to the changes that keep annual festivals fresh and revitalized.
Marissa Amoni is the manager of Aurora Downtown, a nonprofit of business and property owners. Amoni, along with Jen Evans, Lisa Gloria, and Nate Miller, is a founder of Alley Art Festival in downtown Aurora. Alley Art Festival is from noon to 5 p.m. August 31.