WAYNESBORO, Pa. — The Arts Alliance of Greater Waynesboro (AAGW) has marked its tenth anniversary season with Celebrate Destinations ARTS! Weekend.
The festival will begin Friday, July 8 and runs through Sunday, July 10.
This year's celebration has been curated to celebrate how Waynesboro has developed into an arts destination.
In 2012, there were nearly 20 empty storefronts along Main Street. The addition of AAGW has helped revive and welcome new businesses, according to the event promo.
"The community revitalization project was supposed to last just 15 weeks, with vacant buildings becoming art galleries and musicians performing on the sidewalks," said Founder of the Arts Alliance, Andrew Sussman.
"But when the 15 weeks were up, the music kept going and Gallery 50, owned and operated by AAGW, kept going, with more galleries and studios to follow and flourish.”
The weekend event is family-friendly and free, excluding the Summer Concert Series performance, but donations are encouraged and always appreciated.
Beginning Friday, July 8 from 5 to 8 p.m., Celebrate Destinations Arts! Weekend opens with an opening reception in Gallery 50. There will also be additional receptions at Ceramic Arts Center, 42 West ARTS Co-op, Gallery 35 East, Sanders Creations & Laser Graphics, Walnut Street Studios, and Cindy’s Custom Framing. There will also be several special music features.
On Saturday, July 9, there will be nonstop music at Music Makers from 12 to 6 p.m. Featured spotlights will be Tim Gotwald & Dan Dropkin, Dave Dishneau & Michael Heyser, Kerensa Gray, and Sussman, Jankura & Hepfer.
The downtown galleries will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with yarn spinning and sculpting demonstrations at 42 West ARTS Co-op.
Main Street Park will also be busy with live music, art vendors and demonstrations, food trucks and breweries from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The day will close with Bobby D and the Truckstop Burritos from 7 to 9 p.m.
Gallery 50 will be open for art browsing on Sunday, July 10, from 1 to 5 p.m. Main Street Park will have face painting for kids and live performances from Waynesboro Children's Theater Troupe an Two Mountains Over.
For those looking for hands on fun, there will be a special "play me" piano on the sidewalk outside Music Makers for the community to play and share their talent.
There will also be a Destination ARTS! Scavenger Hunt contest beginning Friday, July 8.
For more information regarding the event, follow AAGW on Facebook or visit ArtsAllianceGW.org.
