The Acworth Art Fest, an art festival organized by Splash Festivals, took place April 10 through 11, 2021. Located in historic downtown Acworth on Main Street, the ninth annual event utilized the space to showcase a variety of artists, ranging from pottery makers to jewelers. 

“Splash Festivals specializes in producing art festivals with work that is unique, of high quality, and often colorful and whimsical. Our shows have very creative personalities. Acceptable categories are candles, clay, culinary arts, digital, fiber, folk art, glass, jewelry, leather, living plants, metal, mixed media, paintings, photography, soaps/lotions/balms and wood. We require that all exhibitors hand-make their product,” Splash Festivals said. 

Countless booths lined the streets for visitors to explore the artists’ pieces on display. Artists stationed at their booths chatted with visitors regarding their work. Visitors could purchase different items from the booths and discover additional information about the artists. 

While browsing the booths showcasing different artists, visitors could buy a variety of food and beverages from surrounding restaurants and vendors in the outdoor food court. The festival also contained a Kidz Zone, featuring balloon art, face painting, and other fun activities, designed to make the festival enjoyable for all ages. 

This year’s art festival shared similarities with previous years. The Acworth Art Fest welcomed pets as usual, and visitors paid no fee for admission. Parking provided for festival guests came at zero cost in designated areas. Overall, organizers fostered a family-friendly environment which has remained since the initial Acworth Art Fest.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Acworth Art Fest followed CDC Festival guidelines and took extra safety precautions designated by the Event Safety Alliance (ESA) in The Event Safety Alliance Reopening Guide. Precautions included adding hand sanitizers to the festival site, increasing space between dining and hospitality sites, and utilizing signs encouraging people to wear masks and social distance. 

For those who wanted to avoid gatherings, the Acworth Art Fest provided a virtual option for guests. The virtual event allowed visitors to peruse the vendors’ work, and it also provided links to their websites and other media. Additionally, the organizers gave vendors the opportunity to only participate in the virtual event if they did not want to attend in person. Visitors could find a list of sponsors for the event, a map of the event, and work from the 2019 Acworth Art Fest on the virtual event site as well. Anyone can access the virtual event until April 16 at 11:45 p.m. if they missed the in person event but would still like to attend.

“The Acworth Art Fest was a great opportunity to get out of the house and experience some normalcy while exploring all the talented artists’ work. The virtual art festival is a wonderful addition as everyone can experience the Acworth Art Fest even if they couldn’t physically go,” NC junior Chloe Malcolm said.