LARAC’s June Arts Festival 2023
On Saturday, June 17th, and Sunday, June 18th, the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council – fondly known as LARAC – held their 52nd annual Junes Arts Festival at the Glens Falls City Park. This event ran from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday, and 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Sunday. LARAC is a year-round, non-profit arts organization which was founded in 1972 to enhance cultural services in Warren, Washington, and Northern Saratoga Counties. The LARAC June Arts Festival features over 130 exhibitors, offering a variety of products from jewelry, home items, food, fine art, and textiles, and more.
All fine artists and artisans – with no geographic or membership restrictions – were invited to apply for a booth space by juried entry. All work submitted for consideration must be original design and handcrafted by the artist. Reproductions of original work must involve hand work or direct supervision by the artist.
A gentle but persistent rain fell on Saturday as visitors opened up umbrellas and donned their rain gear to wander through CIty Park and enjoy the art, music, and food offerings. A visitor’s map was provided with a layout of all of the vendors and their corresponding locations in and around the park.
Ritvik Sharma – an artist from the Schenectady/Rotterdam area – works primarily in oils and watercolors. He has been coming to the LARAC Arts Festival for the last few years to exhibit and sell his art: “I’ve been doing this festival for a few years and I enjoy coming here and I enjoy the people,” he said. He works out of his home studio and his garage, and felt that the turnout in the rain was surprisingly good!
Jessica Rogers Landry also had a booth to promote her business – “A Sense of Wonder Studio”. Her store – located at The Shirt Factory – opens three days a week year round, and she also attends festivals and has an online store to promote her business: “So my art starts with my photography and then I make what I call ‘functional art’ out of it. I get my images transformed into fabric and sew them into things like tote bags and pillows and coasters and clutches, and I also dabble in a few paper products, greeting cards and calendars,” Jessica said.
LARAC is run by Executive Director Phil Casabana and Community Outreach Director Alyssa Shiel. Their board of directors is made up of President Will Siegel-Sawma, and members Carol Ann Conover, Susan Ford, Pamela Green, Jessica Landry, Anne Nelson, and David H.B. Thomas.
LARAC is located at 7 Lapham Place which sits on the edge of Glens Falls City Park. For more information, please visit larac.org.