PIQUA — A true celebration of the arts, the Piqua Arts and Ale Festival combines the visual arts, culinary arts and the performing arts into one spectacular event. The event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. with many aspects of the event having different hours. Live music will be provided from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., a plein air painting competition will start at 8 a.m. and works will be on display from 4:30 to 6 p.m., the kids activities will start at 11 a.m. and run until 4 p.m., KDee’s Subhut food truck will be there from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. and the art vendors will be there 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“It’s a complex event,” said Piqua Arts Council Executive Director Jordan Knepper. “I’m really lucky to get to work with a great team on this project. With all the moving parts it is hard for any one person to keep it all straight, but the committee is excellent.”
Knepper says that artists from all over the state of Ohio will be participating in the plein air paint out competition. Artists show up in the morning and have their canvases stamped and then return later in the day with brand new paintings from the Piqua area. The paintings are for sale, and they’ll also be judged with prize money given out to the top five paintings.
Jared and Justin Younce will be coordinating the live music component for the festival. Musicians will change every two hours with Adam “Bubs” Ranly kicking it off at 10 a.m. He will be followed by Kaitlyn Schmit at noon, Cody Garrett at 2 p.m., Mark Cantwil at 4 p.m. and ReFlektion will take the stage at 6 p.m. to close out the festival.
Also on tap will be some local craft beers. The festival celebrates the booming craft beer industry in Ohio by inviting local breweries to participate. This year, Warped Wing Brewery, Lock 27 Brewing and Briar Brown Brewing Company have all signed on to participate in the festival.
“The craft brewing movement is really hot right now,” said Knepper. “Over the past five or six years, we’ve seen new breweries popping up all over the state. Currently the Ohio Craft Brewery Association lists over 150 craft breweries in the state. A few years ago that would have been 20 or less. If you’ve never brewed beer, it’s hard to imagine it as an art form, but mixing ingredients to create something tasty is very similar to mixing paint to create a beautiful color.”
More details about the Piqua Arts and Ale Festival can be found at the Piqua Arts Council’s website www.PiquaArtsCouncil.org or by contacting the Piqua Arts Council at 937-773-9630.
