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Weather more forgiving on second day of Art & Apples Festival

Posted: 09/06/2014 2:04 PM

ROCHESTER >> Though the ground in Rochester was still soaked from Friday's storms, that didn't keep art lovers from flocking to Municipal Park for the 49th annual Art and Apples Festival.

The annual event runs through Sunday.

PHOTOS: 2014 Art & Apples Festival at Rochester Municipal Park

It was Columbus, Ohio-based artist Kate Morgan's first year at the annual festival, which is expected to draw more than 200,000 guests over the weekend.

Morgan got her start in mixed media and figural art six years ago and just recently celebrated her one-year anniversary of taking up her passion full-time. She said her work is inspired by fashion illustration, fashion photography - Morgan is a photographer herself as well - as well as art history, drawing cues from a number of different eras including German Expressionism and Renaissance art.

She said the show's reputation is what caused her to set up her booth -- Kate Morgan Image Design -- in Rochester this weekend.

"I have a lot of friends that have done the show and who have done well," she said. "(They) say it's a good art-supportive crowd."

She said that she noticed more people at the show Saturday morning than Friday night, when storms hit just before teardown.

She added that despite setbacks such as inclement weather at art festivals, she's happy with her choice to pursue her art as a career.

"Even last night with the rain and everything, it's scary because you might lose all your stuff," she said, "but it's stuff you like to make anyway. You can always make more. There are some people here who lost stuff already. But my worst day at this job is way better than my best days at any other job."

Greenville, N.C. craftsman Gopal Kapoor has set up his jewelry stall -- GK Handicraft -- at the show for nearly 25 years and sang praise of the organizers and other artists.

"This is a good show for me," he said. "I like the people; the people who run the show run it well. It's a well-attended show with good quality of art."

He said the organizers of the show at Paint Creek Center for the Arts run a pretty tight ship, adding that vendors were well-prepared in advance for the weekend's heat and following storm.

"Some shows, they don't tell you anything and the storms hit and you lose your tents and stuff like that," he said. "It's chaos. Here they are so efficient. Everything goes so smoothly."

St. Claire Shores resident Sherri Ott-Rustoni and Oxford resident Ginger Hussong have been attending the show together for the past five years and have made it a yearly tradition.

"We make a girls weekend out of it," Ott-Rustoni said. "I stay at her place, we go out for a nice breakfast and make a nice weekend out of it. It's lovely. And the apples, though they've been kind skimpy with the apples this year."

Troy residents Marian and Bob Kender have attended the show for about 10 years and enjoy the variety of art vendors each new year brings.

"It's nice to be outside and to see the artists and be out in this nice weather and enjoying everyone," Marian said. "That's why we come every year. We have different (favorites), different years. Sometimes it's art, sometimes it's jewelry, sometimes it's children's books."

The event, which features nearly 300 artists and is ranked among the nation's best art festivals, is expected to attract upwards of 200,000 visitors over the weekend.