Kyle Sharkey of Wyandotte is shown with his Best of Show abstract oil painting, “A Cell for You and Me,” at the Fall Festival of the Arts.
An abstract oil painting titled “A Cell for You and Me,” by Kyle Sharkey of Wyandotte, captured the Best of Show $300 Award Oct. 6 in the annual Fall Festival of the Arts competition.
Other winners were Nancy Knapp of Woodhaven, who received second place and $200 for her pastel “Path to Little Platte”; Gary Van Gorp of Oak Park, $100, for his oil “Pebble Flowers”; and Laura Mocnik of Flat Rock, $100 and the Artists’ Choice Award for an oil painting titled “Shantel.”
In addition, honorable mentions went to Jim Monroe of Trenton, Nora Chapa Mendoza of West Bloomfield, Emily Solomon of Lincoln Park, Sandra Difazio and Nancy Murray of Milan and Mocnik.
The festival continued through Oct. 20 at the James R. DeSana Center for Arts & Culture in Wyandotte, headquarters of the Downriver Council for the Arts.
A gala reception with hors d’oeuvres and wine kicked off the event, which included a talk by Riverview Mayor Andrew Swift, honorary chairman of the festival; entertainment by Rich Allen; and drawings for bountiful door-prize baskets.
The Downriver Festival of the Arts in its 14th year, was presented by the Downriver Arts & Crafts Guild and Art Ambience.
Applications for participation in the annual Downriver Arts & Crafts Holiday Sale, scheduled for Dec. 2 at Wayne County Community College District Downriver Campus, are available at the Downriver Council for the Arts headquarters, at 81 Chestnut, in Wyandotte.
Sale spokeswoman Maureen Keast emphasized that all items must be created by the artist or crafter, adding that tables will be provided and no commercially made articles can be sold at the venue. The deadline for applications is Nov. 20.
More than 60 artists are expected to offer their wood carvings, ceramics, sculpture, paintings, designer clothing, ornaments, wreaths, jewelry and more. There will be no charge for admission. For additional information, contact Keast at [email protected] or 734-777-6109.
Halloween event slated
Wayne County Community College District Downriver Campus has scheduled its seventh annual Halloween Family Fun Day for Oct. 28, featuring a live performance of “Jack and the Beanstalk” at 2:30 p.m., followed by a costume parade and trick-or-treating.
Workshops, face painting and window painting at 1 p.m. will precede the performance. For free tickets (required) and more information, call the box office at 734-374-3200. To reserve tickets on line, go to www.halloweenfunday.brownpapertickets.com.
Coming up . . .
Oct. 27 — Opening night performance of “Be a Good Little Widow,” a sad comedy about loss and longing to be staged by the Open Book Theatre Company; 8 p.m. at the Open Book Theatre, 1621 West Road, Trenton; all tickets are $30 and include an afterglow; additional performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Oct. 28, Nov. 3, 4. 10 11, 16, 17 and 18, and 2 p.m. Nov. 5 and 12, the latter two to be followed by discussions with the artists; tickets are $20 ($15, students and seniors); for more information, call 734-288-7753.
Nov. 7-12 — Play, “The Color Purple,” Tony Award-winning revival of the musical adapted from the best-selling novel; at the Fisher Theatre; tickets starting at $39 (including parking), are available at all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at 800-9829-27987 and online at www.broadwayindetroit.com or www.ticketmaster.com; tickets for an open-captioned performance at 8 p.m. Nov. 10 are available by calling 313-872-1000, Ext. 0.