Arts Fest Kicks Off Downtown This Weekend
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – It finally feels like summer as the Three Rivers Arts Festival kicks off this weekend.
Starting this afternoon, downtown Pittsburgh will be filled with works from local artists and live music performances running through June 15.
With the beautiful weather Friday afternoon, the festivities drew one of the biggest opening midday crowds in the 55 year run of the arts festival.
This year's festival will include performances by Jeff Tweedy, Kaiser Chiefs, Amos Lee, Lucinda Williams and Pittsburgh's Complaints n'at Choir, among others.
Additionally, there will be artist markets at Point State Park and Gateway Center.
More than 400 artists are participating throughout the festival.
"We have some artists who have participated in the early years of the artists market," said Arts Festival Director Veronica Corpuz. "We have also invited many new artists to apply, and over the course of the last few years, we've seen our artist grow and travel from as far away as California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, and it's really, it's a diverse mix."
The festival is also reaching out to families with a creativity zone on The Point side of the park.
"So children can be introduced to art-making practices, sustainability practices, and they can even work with teaching artists on-site to learn how to spin clay pottery, wood turning and also see their peers perform on our creativity stage," Corpuz said.
Nautical fans can also check out the mini marina in the fountain in Gateway Center, featuring little sailboats and tiny regatta of sorts.
As always, there will lots of food venders out for the festival, including food truck Fridays.
Close to half-a-million people are expected to take part in the Arts Fest.
For more info, check out the Three Rivers Arts Fest website at www.3riversartsfest.org.
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