There’s something for everyone at the 41st annual Omaha Summer Arts Festival presented by First National Bank, taking place on Farnam Street, alongside the Gene Leahy Mall. With more than 60 new artists, a full line-up of free concerts and hands-on creative fun at the Children’s Fair, Omaha Summer Arts Festival (OSAF) offers three days of arts immersion, and it’s all free to attend.
More than 3 million people from throughout the Midwest have visited the Festival since it’s inception in 1975. In 2015, OSAF was voted Omaha’s Best Outdoor Festival and Best Family Festival, and just last year Smithonian.com tagged it as one of the “Top 20 Can’t-Miss Summer Festivals.” This community-wide celebration of the arts returns to Downtown Omaha from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 7.
Artist’s Market
With the visual arts as its cornerstone, the Festival features 135 artists from across the country. The artists were selected from over 400 applicants by a jury of local and regional art enthusiasts and professionals. The Artist’s Market offers an opportunity to purchase fine arts and crafts including painting, jewelry, clay, glass, sculpture and photography. Visitors can expect a variety of high-quality artwork in a price range to fit all budgets.
Live Music
The 2015 OSAF World Music Pavilion will feature a full line-up of 12 free concerts during the three-day festival. Highlights include two award-winning performers; Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band who received a Grammy in 2011 for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album and seven-time Native American Music Award winning group, Brulé.
Carrier will perform on Saturday, June 6 from 7 to 9 p.m. and Brulé will close the Festival with a full stage show from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 7. In addition, the stage will also feature annual performances by the Omaha Musicians Association Jazz All Stars at noon on Friday, June 5, and local jazz favorite Luigi Inc from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 7.
TasteFest
In addition to a full weekend of entertainment, visitors can purchase beer, wine and other ice-cold beverages at the World Music Pavilion. TasteFest and festival cafés will feature a variety of local vendors offering menus ranging from ribs, gyros and hot dogs to kettle corn and shaved ice. New this year, TasteFest will also include a food truck row featuring vendors including SweetLime Thai, Maria Bonita and more.
Children’s Fair
On Saturday and Sunday, June 6-7, the Children’s Fair will take place at 11th and Farnam Streets. Dozens of hands-on activities and art projects for children ages 3 to 10 will be offered with the theme How Does Your G-ART-en Grow? Area organizations including YMCA, Girl Scouts–Spirit of Nebraska, El Museo Latino, Girls Incorporated of Omaha, University of Nebraska Medical Center/Nebraska Science Festival and more will offer a wide range of art-related crafts and games during the Festival.
Admission and designated activities are free. Tickets for additional hands-on crafts and other activities can be purchased for 50 cents each, with most requiring one to four tickets.
Young Artist Exhibition
More than 30 metro schools will be represented at the 20th annual Young Artist Exhibition. Artwork created by students in grades 6 through 12 will be displayed in the W. Dale Clark Main Library during the Festival. Scholarships, recognition awards, art supplies and special prizes will be presented at a reception for students, teachers and parents on Saturday of the Festival.
Art Collectors in Training
After its successful debut in 2014, Art Collectors in Training (ACT) will return for two full days at this years’ festival. The program offers children ages 5 to 10 an opportunity to purchase an original piece of art donated by the professional artists participating in the Festival.
After their purchases, young buyers and their families are encouraged to meet the artist who created their work by visiting them at their booth in the Artist’s Market. Last year, more than 125 children participated in this thriving program, which encourages the appreciation of the arts at a young age. This year, OSAF organizers are excited to collaborate with The 402 Arts Collective to expand this engaging program.
The 402 Arts Collective brings people together tocreate and cultivate a vibrant network of artists who are committed to impacting the culture and serving the Omaha community. A team from The 402 Art Collective will coordinate and staff the 2015 Art Collectors in Training program, offering guidance and inspiration to the children as they select their works and then encouraging them to visit with ‘their’ professional artist.
Featured Illustrator
The Festival will continue its long-standing tradition of featuring an original illustration created specifically for OSAF. This year’s Featured Illustrator is Omaha native, Keri Hedrick. Hedrick enjoys combining different techniques and experimenting with new methods of applying paint on canvas. “I’ve been going to the Summer Arts Festival for years!” Hedrick said. “This is such an amazing opportunity and is still a little hard to believe…”
About Omaha Summer Arts Festival
The Omaha Summer Arts Festival is presented by First National Bank and sponsored by the Douglas County Visitor Improvement Fund, Presenting Media Sponsor WOWT NBC Omaha, Official Technology Provider CenturyLink, Youth Arts Presenter The Sherwood Foundation and World Music Pavilion underwriter the Nebraska Arts Council.
OSAF is consistently recognized as one of Omaha’s best annual events and has been named one of the Top 100 Fine Arts Festivals in the country by ArtFair SourceBook and one of the Top 100 Events in North America by the American Bus Association. For 2015, the Festival was awarded “Best Family Festival” by Omaha Magazine and Best Outdoor Festival by The Readers’ Choice Best of the BIG O!.
The Omaha Summer Arts Festival is a magnet that draws people together to celebrate art in all of its forms and varied expressions. Its mission is to present culturally diverse, high-quality arts programs, performances and exhibits in downtown Omaha for the general public to enjoy and appreciate free of charge. Omaha Summer Arts Festival, Inc. is a non-profit arts organization led by a volunteer board of directors comprised of 15 area business, arts and community leaders. The Festival is professionally managed by Vic Gutman & Associates, the region’s premier event management company.
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>p>There’s something for everyone at the 41st annual Omaha Summer Arts Festival presented by First National Bank, taking place on Farnam Street, alongside the Gene Leahy Mall. With more than 60 new artists, a full line-up of free concerts and hands-on creative fun at the Children’s Fair, Omaha Summer Arts Festival (OSAF) offers three days of arts immersion, and it’s all free to attend.>/p>
>p>More than 3 million people from throughout the Midwest have visited the Festival since it’s inception in 1975. In 2015, OSAF was voted Omaha’s Best Outdoor Festival and Best Family Festival, and just last year Smithonian.com tagged it as one of the “Top 20 Can’t-Miss Summer Festivals.” This community-wide celebration of the arts returns to Downtown Omaha from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 7.>/p>
>p>>strong>Artist’s Market>/strong>>br />With the visual arts as its cornerstone, the Festival features 135 artists from across the country. The artists were selected from over 400 applicants by a jury of local and regional art enthusiasts and professionals. The Artist’s Market offers an opportunity to purchase fine arts and crafts including painting, jewelry, clay, glass, sculpture and photography. Visitors can expect a variety of high-quality artwork in a price range to fit all budgets.>/p>
>p>>strong>Live Music>/strong>>br />The 2015 OSAF World Music Pavilion will feature a full line-up of 12 free concerts during the three-day festival. Highlights include two award-winning performers; Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band who received a Grammy in 2011 for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album and seven-time Native American Music Award winning group, Brulé.>/p>
>p>Carrier will perform on Saturday, June 6 from 7 to 9 p.m. and Brulé will close the Festival with a full stage show from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 7. In addition, the stage will also feature annual performances by the Omaha Musicians Association Jazz All Stars at noon on Friday, June 5, and local jazz favorite Luigi Inc from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 7.>/p>
>p>>strong>TasteFest>/strong>>br />In addition to a full weekend of entertainment, visitors can purchase beer, wine and other ice-cold beverages at the World Music Pavilion. TasteFest and festival cafés will feature a variety of local vendors offering menus ranging from ribs, gyros and hot dogs to kettle corn and shaved ice. New this year, TasteFest will also include a food truck row featuring vendors including SweetLime Thai, Maria Bonita and more.>/p>
>p>>strong>Children’s Fair>/strong>>br />On Saturday and Sunday, June 6-7, the Children’s Fair will take place at 11th and Farnam Streets. Dozens of hands-on activities and art projects for children ages 3 to 10 will be offered with the theme How Does Your G-ART-en Grow? Area organizations including YMCA, Girl Scouts–Spirit of Nebraska, El Museo Latino, Girls Incorporated of Omaha, University of Nebraska Medical Center/Nebraska Science Festival and more will offer a wide range of art-related crafts and games during the Festival.>/p>
>p>Admission and designated activities are free. Tickets for additional hands-on crafts and other activities can be purchased for 50 cents each, with most requiring one to four tickets.>/p>
>p>>strong>Young Artist Exhibition>/strong>>br />More than 30 metro schools will be represented at the 20th annual Young Artist Exhibition. Artwork created by students in grades 6 through 12 will be displayed in the W. Dale Clark Main Library during the Festival. Scholarships, recognition awards, art supplies and special prizes will be presented at a reception for students, teachers and parents on Saturday of the Festival.>/p>
>p>>strong>Art Collectors in Training>/strong>>br />After its successful debut in 2014, Art Collectors in Training (ACT) will return for two full days at this years’ festival. The program offers children ages 5 to 10 an opportunity to purchase an original piece of art donated by the professional artists participating in the Festival.>/p>
>p>After their purchases, young buyers and their families are encouraged to meet the artist who created their work by visiting them at their booth in the Artist’s Market. Last year, more than 125 children participated in this thriving program, which encourages the appreciation of the arts at a young age. This year, OSAF organizers are excited to collaborate with The 402 Arts Collective to expand this engaging program.>/p>
>p>The 402 Arts Collective brings people together tocreate and cultivate a vibrant network of artists who are committed to impacting the culture and serving the Omaha community. A team from The 402 Art Collective will coordinate and staff the 2015 Art Collectors in Training program, offering guidance and inspiration to the children as they select their works and then encouraging them to visit with ‘their’ professional artist.>/p>
>p>>strong>Featured Illustrator>/strong>>br />The Festival will continue its long-standing tradition of featuring an original illustration created specifically for OSAF. This year’s Featured Illustrator is Omaha native, Keri Hedrick. Hedrick enjoys combining different techniques and experimenting with new methods of applying paint on canvas. “I’ve been going to the Summer Arts Festival for years!” Hedrick said. “This is such an amazing opportunity and is still a little hard to believe…”>/p>
>p>>strong>About Omaha Summer Arts Festival>/strong>>br />The Omaha Summer Arts Festival is presented by First National Bank and sponsored by the Douglas County Visitor Improvement Fund, Presenting Media Sponsor WOWT NBC Omaha, Official Technology Provider CenturyLink, Youth Arts Presenter The Sherwood Foundation and World Music Pavilion underwriter the Nebraska Arts Council.>/p>
>p>OSAF is consistently recognized as one of Omaha’s best annual events and has been named one of the Top 100 Fine Arts Festivals in the country by ArtFair SourceBook and one of the Top 100 Events in North America by the American Bus Association. For 2015, the Festival was awarded “Best Family Festival” by Omaha Magazine and Best Outdoor Festival by The Readers’ Choice Best of the BIG O!.>/p>
>p>The Omaha Summer Arts Festival is a magnet that draws people together to celebrate art in all of its forms and varied expressions. Its mission is to present culturally diverse, high-quality arts programs, performances and exhibits in downtown Omaha for the general public to enjoy and appreciate free of charge. Omaha Summer Arts Festival, Inc. is a non-profit arts organization led by a volunteer board of directors comprised of 15 area business, arts and community leaders. The Festival is professionally managed by Vic Gutman & Associates, the region’s premier event management company.>/p>