A Main Street Festival for the Arts

Photography by Paparazzi Paul.

It was a bit of a chilly day throughout the town of Stroudsburg, PA on Saturday May 14^th during the annual Arts on Main Festival. Still, the warmth generated by the art, the energetic music, and the friendliness of the vendors lining the streets created a welcoming loving sensation that heated the soul. The day began with offerings from Monroe Farmers Market www.monroefarmersmarket.com who had a variety of fresh food and other items available for purchase at the town's Courthouse Square from 8am until noon. The festival officially began at noon and continued to present art, music, and other performances in various locations throughout the day until 5pm.

I arrived in town a bit late in the day so most of what was scheduled to occur was either ending or had ended beforehand. However, I did get to town in time to experience guitarist Vanessa Marchiano who performed in the vacant lot located between Josephine's Fleur-de-lis and The 14KT Outlet’s Fine Jewelry Design. The hypnotic qualities of the songs she shared were enhanced by her voice and instrument. I walked down the street after a while to the sidewalk in front of Brite Cleaners where I encounter a band known as “A Season Underground” www.facebook.com/aseasonunderground/?fref=ts who consists of Amber Sauls on vocals, Katie Evans, on bass, and Rafael Pimentel on percussions. The voice of Ms. Sauls and the musical abilities of her band mates touched spirit of not only the songs they performed but created new souls for the compositions that found themselves dwelling within the essence of each listener.

It was after a while that I left the site where A Season Underground were and strolled over to the town's courthouse square where a number of artists and other vendors were gathered. Artist Carly Kripps art.ck20@gmail.com, Rachel Black of Rachel's Animal Art www.etsy.com/shop/RachelsAnimalArt, Melissa Benzinger of Dancing Vulture Designs www.DancingVultureDesigns.com, Tracy Gross of Trae Be True Design www.etsy.com/shop/TraeBeTrueDesign, Artist Maria Ferreris www.fineartamerica.com, and Azizi Dayo of Soap Muffin www.SoapMuffin.com were among those whom I met. It was during my time exploring the courthouse square and all its offerings did I hear the familiar sounds of the duo known as “Woodrow” www.facebook.com/wearewoodrow which consists of Theresa Ratcliff on vocals and Brian Brancamp on vocals and Guitar. The duo played a number of tunes with the transcendent style and interpretations they have become well known. I then left the couple to enter The PoconoArts Community Cultural Center presented their 2016 PoconoArts Council's Membership show. www.poconoarts.org

The array of images, which numbered over 70, filled the senses as I moved from one piece to another. A flourishing energy was sensed throughout the gallery as the stunning variety of the work and the artistic approaches they embraced moved into the subconscious spheres of the mind's reality. The PoconoArts Council Members' Exhibition continues until May 27^th. Their next exhibition will be their Watercolor Exhibition with an Artists' Reception scheduled for Saturday June 4^th beginning at 5pm with the work continuing to be on display until June 25^th. Local Artists are invited to participate in the exhibit and the Drop off date is Thursday May 31^st. I could not stay for the artists' reception for Members' Exhibition, but I did know what prizes were to be given out later that day.

Awards were given to outstanding works in several categories. The recipients in the category designated as “Oils” were Mary Cebone who received the 1^st place award, David Palmer who received the 2^nd place award, and Margie Cohen who received the 3^rd place award with Honorable Mentioned going to Joyce Everitt. The recipients in the category designated as “Acrylics” were Linda Stockman who received the 1^st place award, Patricia Cartledge who received the 2^nd place award, and Wil Daskel who received the 3^rd place award while Stephen Kruger was awarded Honorable Mentioned. The recipients in the category designated as “Watercolor” were Jan Swift who received the 1^st place award, Paula George who received the 2^nd place award, and Linda Kreckel who received the 3^rd place award. The recipients in the category designated as “Works on Paper” were Jim Gloria who received the 1^st place award, Morgan Weissbach who received the 2^nd place award, and Debbie Procopio who received the 3^rd place award while Armando Baez was awarded Honorable Mentioned. The recipients in the category designated as “Photography” were Clavertis Miller who received the 1^st place award, Christine Medley who received the 2^nd place award, and Sherwood Samet who received the 3^rd place award while John Yetter was awarded Honorable Mentioned. The recipients in the category designated as “Mixed Media” were Iraina Caramelli who received the 1^st place award, Linda Mutchler Rushin who received the 2^nd place award, and Clair Marcus who received the 3^rd place award while Susan Obaza was awarded Honorable Mentioned. The recipients in the category designated as “Fine Crafts (Functional)”were Lenore Fiore Mills who received the 1^st place award and Jorge Cruz who received the 2^nd place award. Andrea Robbins Rimberg received the award in The 3-D Works Sculpture and Non-Functional Category and Cynthia Smith received the award for Best of Show for her watercolor work titled, “Me, Me, Me.” The Jurors were Leah Gottlieb, Lalaine Bangiln Little, and George Shortess.

The Arts on Main Festival also featured other galleries located throughout the town who were continuing to display exhibits that began earlier in the year. The SOHO in the BURG Gallery www.sohointheburg.com presented their 50 Shades of Green exhibition and will do so until May 18^th. Their Summer Show will hold an Artists' Reception on Saturday June 4^th. Local Artists are invited to participate in the exhibit and the Drop off dates are May 19^th - 21^st. The Origins Gallery www.originsgallery.org presented their Outta Space exhibition and will do so until May 18^th. Their “A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words” Exhibition will hold an Artists' Reception on Saturday May 21^st. Local Artists are invited to participate in the exhibit and the Drop off dates are May 18^th and 19^th. DR's Custom Framing and Art Gallery in Stroudsburg, PA presented the work of Sean Turrell and will do so until May 31^st. I did not visit these galleries during the Art on Main Festival as I had to be elsewhere to prepare for The Forwardian Film Festival that would be held at The Origins Gallery. There will be more about that in another article. In the meantime, you’ll find more photographs taken during The 2016 Arts on Main Festival in our A Main Street Festival for the Arts Gallery at www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154873957358761.1073741969.91146283760&type=3.