Art festival turns 50

The artist, who was 18 at the time, decided to give the festival a shot. Her works prompted two orders, launching a successful career and longtime association with one of New England’s premier summer events.
  Burda, 64, will be participating in the golden anniversary of the Wickford Art Festival on July 7 and 8, making it her 47th consecutive year.
  “I’ve been through everything, even a hurricane,” she said, explaining that winds from the storm, not the rain, paid a visit to the North Kingstown village several years ago. “My whole tent was lifted up and blown into the street.”
  She characterized the festival and its artists as gracious, likening a core group of returning artists to a bunch of family members that enjoy and look out for each other.
  Burda is one of the 80 artists over the age of 60 that will be exhibiting at the festival, according to Rich Watrous, 52, who is in his inaugural year serving as a co-director of the event. He put the total number of artists at about 200 and said 50 of them call the Ocean State home. Other creators come from across the country, including California, Florida and the Carolinas.
  Another returning senior artist is 76-year-old Kenneth MacDonald. The accomplished found object sculptor has been displaying at the Wickford Art Asso-ciation’s festival for five years, all of which have been enjoyable.
“Wickford is a great venue for meeting people from all over the world and just enjoying yourself,” MacDonald said. “What you display may trigger some thinking and result in a commission.”
Burda, who is a member of the art association and assists with publicity, said besides attracting exhi-bitors, art lovers and tourists, the festival has impacted generations of students through its scholarship program.
  A portion of the proceeds from the festival and money generated through the sale of raffle tickets help fund the scholarships for young adults interested in pursuing art careers. Only North Kingstown High School students were eligible for the scholarships, but the program went statewide this year, drawing applicants from 40 schools.     
In addition, Burda and Watrous said, scholarship recipients are allowed to exhibit at the festival, an enriching experience that exposes the aspiring artists’ works and possibly spurs interest in South County.
“This gets some students to come here. Some of them have never been to South County, to the beaches, even though they have lived in Rhode Island all of their lives. …It’s really important to do this,” Burda said.
Burda said the festival “has something for everyone,” including delicious fare served at St. Paul’s Church and the First Baptist Church, both on Main Street. Attendance at the festival has swelled from about 7,500 people in 1962, to about 20,000 patrons last year, according to Watrous, whose co-director is Frederica McLaughlin.
The late John E. Huszer is considered the father of the art festival, and he is one of the founders remembered in a festival retrospective, The Way We Were, on display at Wilson’s of Wickford, 35 Brown St., through July 8. Also, the North Kingstown Free Library, 100 Boone St., has an exhibit of Huszer’s paintings and memorabilia from previous festivals.
The festival starts at 10 a.m. on both days and is open until 6 p.m. on July 7 and 5 p.m. on July 8. The North Kingstown Rotary Club is providing parking for $5 and a shuttle bus service. Parking will be available at the former Wickford Elementary School on Phillips Street, the Wickford Middle School at 250 Tower Hill Road and Wilson Park at 201 West Main St. Proceeds will help Rotary’s many charitable endeavors.
Watrous pointed out that the art festival is just one of many top-notch events happening in Rhode Island at the beginning of July. Others include the famous Bristol Fourth of July Parade and the Ocean State Tall Ships Festival in Newport from July 6 to 9.
“I think it’s a great thing. There is going to be a huge focus on Rhode Island for the whole week,” Watrous said.