Mainsail Art Festival returns to St. Petersburg

Mainsail Art Festival, one particular of St. Petersburg’s longest traditions, is again after a two-calendar year hiatus brought on by the pandemic. It returns to Vinoy Park on April 16-17.

“We are returning greater and stronger than at any time,” mentioned Jane Ferguson, co-chairperson of the Mainsail Artwork Festival committee.

Now in its 47th year, the competition showcases wonderful art, enjoyment and children’s functions, live songs and foods suppliers.

The festival is rated No. 14 in Sunshine Artist magazine’s 200 greatest festivals in the good artwork and layout classification. The magazine is a national artwork display and pageant information. Mainly because of the impact the pandemic experienced on festivals, the magazine created the rankings, which are identified by earnings centered on the earlier ten years.

The juried artwork pageant garners more than 1,000 entries for acceptance. In the previous, about 250 artists were chosen to show, but this calendar year 270 have been acknowledged.

The past Mainsail Art Pageant took place in 2019 the prepared 2020 competition was canceled. Artists acknowledged into the 2020 competition were being supplied the possibility to roll their acceptance and the relevant charges to this year’s function. About three-fourths of those artists rolled about, which is a testomony to the display, said Lisa Wells, the other co-chairperson of the committee.

Artist Shelby Dillon very first participated in Mainsail in 2019. She experienced just moved to St. Petersburg from North Carolina and felt particularly welcomed when she was chosen as the showcased artist to style and design Mainsail’s poster for 2020.

Of system, that festival never transpired, but the structure Dillon produced of the waterfront and the still-to-open St. Pete Pier was printed on posters. Individuals will be offered at this year’s competition, along with Dillon’s current style that adds sailboats, which hearkens again to the festival’s concept.

Dillon, who is showing at this year’s festival, was “floored and flattered” to be selected.

“It was the very first yr that I attended Mainsail … it just genuinely capped off this unbelievable 2019 display.”

A overall of $60,000 in prize money will be awarded in the exhibit, which will be juried by Emily Kapes, curator of The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg. The festival ordinarily draws additional than 100,000 readers above the weekend, but Ferguson expects record quantities simply because of St. Petersburg’s development in the previous handful of decades.

The nonprofit festival is entirely manned by volunteers. Just one of its functions is Younger at Artwork, a college student showcase for grades K-12 from general public and non-public universities. Twelve Awards of Excellence and 12 Honorable Mentions will be declared at 11 a.m. April 16.

Young Masters scholarships sponsored by the Mahaffey Apartment Firm and Raymond James are awarded to five 12th quality Pinellas County college students, whose get the job done will be on show in the Younger at Art tent. The students get $1,000 just about every to keep on their art instruction.

Ferguson is primarily happy of the scholarships for the reason that they highlight “our dedication to continuing the arts in the group.”

Children can make art in the Junior League Build Tent, in a partnership with Terrific Explorations Children’s Museum. The NOMAD Art Bus will also be on web site, delivering art-producing experiences.

Duncan McClellan’s DMG University Venture will be demonstrating glassblowing.

There is a food stuff court that includes eating places such as Sea Doggy Cantina and Pipo’s Cuban Cafe. Are living audio consists of University of Rock St. Petersburg, Trey Wanveg and The Hummingbirds.

If you go

Mainsail Artwork Pageant. Free. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. April 16, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. April 17. Vinoy Park, 701 Bayshore Push NE, St. Petersburg. The event will be cashless this 12 months. Company animals are the only animals permitted. mainsailart.org.