This August, Highland Park hosted its 42nd annual Port Clinton Art Festival. This festival was a two-day event, showcasing paintings, mixed media, sculpture, jewelry, and various other mediums. Each year, more than 100,000 consumers, connoisseurs, and locals visit this vibrant celebration of the arts. Some of our very own HP students and residents participate in the festival with their own booths, joining the 260 artists from around the country that compose this event.
The festival is organized by Amdur Productions, which supervised security, booth/tent rental, artist parking, and other staff support. Over 500,000 dollars are spent on marketing for the festival.
Amy Amdur, a former resident of Highland Park and the founder of Amdur Productions, was responsible for the conception of this event. After graduating from Northwestern and attending the School of the Art Institute and the Kellogg School of Business, she decided to take on the endeavor of creating the art festival. She worked with her father, who was a developer for the Port Clinton office and retail space.
On the Amdur Productions website, Amdur describes how she was first inspired by showcasing her own works in local art fairs as a kid. “The thrill of showcasing my art and realizing that someone wanted to buy it sparked something in me; that moment planted the seed for Amdur Productions. I wanted other artists to experience that same excitement,” Amdur said. In 1984, Amdur was given the task of planning activities and events for the town center. Just a few of her ideas include: Taste of Port Clinton, Music in the Plaza, and the inaugural Port Clinton Art Festival. Highland Park fell in love with the art festival, and for the past 42 years, it has grown into a staple of Highland Park events.
After the success of the festival, she created her own production company and went on to work with Holiday Inn, Chicago Design Group, Miami City Ballet, Florida Grand Opera, and the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. Since the creation of Amdur Productions, they have organized more than 1,000 festivals, some earning paramount awards and recognition. The festivals showcase glass and metal work, paintings, sculptures, jewelry, photography, sketches, and other forms of art, each celebrated and admired by the thousands that come to Amdur’s events.
Aiden Feinberg is a junior here at Highland Park who has sold candles and ceramics for three years at the festival. In an interview with Feinberg, he expressed how all events are typically well organized and well communicated. He also described his experience with customers, saying, “I have met a lot of kind and caring people, some of whom have passed on my contact to local store owners who have given me opportunities I would not have gotten if I did not participate in these festivals.” Additionally, he recommended participating in the event, saying, “If you have the passion and love for creating, starting a business can be very rewarding and a great way to make some money on the side.”
Youth artists (ages 10-18) who are interested in participating in next year’s festival may apply online on Amdur’s Website (amdurproductions.com). On the application, artists will be asked for their name, category, and sub-category, an artist statement, and two images of their original artwork. To finish the application, one must select either an 8’ table (150 dollars) or a 4’ table (75 dollars). It is recommended to fully read through the rules and regulations of the festival before applying. Artists are accepted in order of application receipt, first come, first serve.
For adults (18 and older), the application is a bit more difficult. Artists will be asked to provide information about themselves and their artwork, and to pay the application fee. Then, they are placed in the jury process. If the artist is selected, they will be notified with more information.
This opportunity is an amazing chance to learn more about what it means to be an artist, to learn about business in the art industry, and to grow closer with your community. Youth artists get the chance to meet and gain connections with other accomplished artists, whereas community members get to delve into the world of art that is so carefully displayed to them.