Gulf Breeze art festival begins this weekend
BY SCOTT PAGE Gulf Breeze News Scott@gulfbreezenews.com

Submitted photo Art by Godwin Kou, pictured above, will be on display at the Gulf Breeze art fest.

Gulf Breeze Arts, Inc., and the city of Gulf Breeze will host the 14th annual Celebrate the Arts Festival this weekend at Gulf Breeze High School (GBHS). The two-day family event will begin on Saturday, March 22 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and conclude on Sunday, March 23 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Applications for the festival come from all over the United States and are judged in the following categories: painting, watercolor, graphics, sculpture, fine crafts, mixed media, photography, ceramics, jewelry and literary art. This year 135 entries have been approved for the festival.

"A good number of them are from within a 100 mile radius of the Pensacola area," said Sue Warner, Director of the 2008 Arts Festival Committee. "But we also have entries from Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Canada and Minnesota."

Eighteen of the 22 cash award winners from 2007 are returning. Two of last year's winners, Diane Brim and Jerry Lewis of Gulf Breeze, entered the painting category this year.

Sculpture, such as Dawn Hargrove's piece pictured at left, literature, paintings and much more will be on display this weekend at the Gulf Breeze Celebrates the Arts Festival. Submitted photo

This year's festival is the first at which the literary arts will be represented. Nelson O. Ottenhausen of Gulf Breeze will be featured as the only poet, novelist and short story author exhibiting at the festival. Ottenhausen is a retired Army officer and the author of four novels.

A blind jury panel that consists of three working artists or art professionals will judge each piece individually. All entries are judged based on artistic excellence, originality, execution of design, technique and craftsmanship, creative use of materials and aesthetic qualities.

The judging will begin at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, March 22. The 21 cash awards, totaling $7,000, are as follows: Best of Show - $1,000, Awards of Excellence (four total) - $500 each, Awards of Distinction (eight total) - $300 each and Awards of Honor (eight total) - $200 each.

Visitors can also view the work of local up-and-coming artists. Santa Rosa County School children will display their artwork in the GBHS arts room.

The event is free and open to the public, but the family dog will have to stay home. No pets will be allowed on the festival grounds. Also, food vendors will be present to serve food and drinks to hungry and thirsty patrons.

Normal vehicle parking will be available in the Gulf Breeze Middle and Elementary schools' parking lots. RV parking is designated to the bus lane behind the schools.