Bowling Green may be a small midwestern town, but there’s at least one weekend of the year that the population more than doubles in size, turning it into a cultural hub.
Data from the 2012 census pegged the city’s population at 31,000, but during the 21st annual Black Swamp Arts Festival, an estimated 70,000 people will pour into the city, said Barbara Ruland, executive director of Downtown Bowling Green.
“The restaurants are packed, the hotels are full,” Ruland said. “It can never be a bad thing to take people from the region and show them a good time and show them what our town has to offer.”
The festival, which begins Friday at 5 p.m. and runs until 5 p.m. on Sunday on Main Street, is a way to promote art and connect local artists to the community, Ruland said.
About 150 local and national artists will showcase their work in a variety of events during the festival, sponsored by the Bowling Green Rotary Club and the Ohio Arts Council.
The Juried Art Show will host 112 participants, who can win up to $1,500. Fifty local artists and University art club members will feature their work at the Wood County Invitational. Still others will take a more hands-on approach, crafting their art on site in front of an audience during Artists at Work.
There are also events for the kids.
The Youth Arts Village, sponsored by Kiwanis International, features art activities for kids like tie dye and face paint. High schools will participate in the Chalk Walk, presented by Fifth Third Bank. In this chalk mural competition, teams can win up to $500 for their art department.
But that’s not the only artistic medium at the festival.
Local and national music acts will perform throughout the festival on one of three music stages; a main stage, an acoustic stage and a family stage.
About 30 acts will perform throughout the weekend, said Alex Hann, chair of the site and logistics committee.
Amy Craft, owner of For Keeps located on Main Street, has been on the concessions committee for 15 years. Craft’s father, Floyd, was a co-founder of the festival in 1993.
For Craft, the festival is an integral part of the community, highlighting the array of shops and restaurants in the city and drawing people from across the world to the area.
“As a downtown business owner, it’s so important to remind people that we have a vibrant downtown,” Craft said. “Over the years, we’ve developed into a festival that people purposefully come back to Bowling Green for.”
Less than a month after the previous festival ended, planning for this one began, an endeavor that brought the community together, Ruland said.
“It takes the support of the whole community to put this thing together,” she said.
University students are even volunteering their time. For instance, some students will assist in recycling efforts by sorting plastics and cardboard from trash.
At this past year’s festival, the effort reduced dumpster use from three to two, Hann said.
“It not only reduced landfill, it also save the festival money,” he said.
For students looking for a way to get there, the University will sponsor a free shuttle bus service to the festival for anyone with a BG1 ID. Stops will be behind Hanna Hall, Meijer, BG High School, the fairgrounds and the police division.
Schedule:
Friday, Sept. 6:
Main stage and concessions: 5 p.m. to Midnight
Saturday, Sept. 7:
Festival Hours: 10 a.m. to Midnight
Art Exhibits: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Youth Arts Area: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 8:
Festival Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m (Art Exhibits, Music, Concessions)
Youth Arts Area: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
