Once inside, locals were met with a wide array of artists showing off their creativity in the form of paintings, sculptures, music and dance. Weaving through the sea of tents led guests to The Looking Glass where attendees walked through an immersive art experience from a fantasyland. Demonstrations and workshops were available to take part in, and to cap off the Saturday; the Bad Hat Fire Troop spun and spit fire while Glenn Richardson cut out wood portraits using a chainsaw.

“I think that what makes this art festival so special is that we have demos and workshops that take place. It’s not necessarily just a festival, but you get to see all facets of art. Whether it is watching people perform, listening to the music that’s playing on stage or experiencing the vendors. It’s based around being interactive and engaging,” Maria Vitale, IX Art Park Director of Marketing, said.

Artists and vendors submitted applications to be a part of the Charlottesville Art Festival. And applications were picked out by the IX Art Park staff to include a wide variety of artwork.

IX Art Park is an outdoor space that features murals and sculptures open to the public. Events are held throughout the year that invites the community to celebrate artists and support programs that educate and empower. The IX Art Park Foundation is a non-profit that uses its proceeds to run summer camps, weekly classes, free film screenings, community nights and farmers markets.

“Everything that helps the community gets put back into the community. All of our sales today whether it be the ticket prices or the bar, we use that money to generate scholarships and programs. We are for the community by the community,” Vitale said.

Upcoming 2023 events include: FAE Festival on June 10-11, Soul of Cville on August 11-13, Fantasy Festival on October 28 and the Tattoo and Vinyl Festival on November 18-19. For more information about IX Art Park, visit www.ixartpark.org