The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts will host the 7th annual ARToberfest. The festival observes National Arts & Humanities Month, celebrates the talent of local and regional artists, and highlights the arts’ remarkable impact on community life. ARToberfest will take place on Sat., Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Turner Center Art Park, located at 605 N. Patterson St. The event is free and open to the public. 

ARToberfest hosts dozens of artist vendors, giving them the space to display and sell their artworks. The festival is an event staple for the Turner Center and the Valdosta community and is the perfect opportunity for artists to share their works and flex their merchant muscles. 

In addition to art vendors, the festival will include pottery, flameworking and rug hooking demos, live music, the South Georgia Classic Car Club, professional face painting artists, trackless train rides, Fifth Day Farm Petting Zoo, pumpkin painting, food and beverage vendors and a Plein Air painting contest (age 18+) with a $1,000 First-Place prize, $400 Second-Place prize and $100 Third-Place prize.

Interested artists should register for a membership with RAC (Regional Artist Community) for $75, which includes the booth for ARToberfest as well as the opportunity to sell in the Turner Center gift shop and participation in the annual RAC Gallery Exhibit. The deadline for registration has been extended to Mon., Oct. 21, 2024. 

The Turner Center thanks the many sponsors who made this event possible: ACS Real Estate Services, Inc.; Blanton Commons Apartments; Blanton & Griffin Insurance Agency; Center for the Arts Guild; Georgia Council for the Arts; Lamar Advertising of South Georgia; Mala Vallotton; Miller Hardware Company; PAAC – Public Art Advisory Committee; RAC – Regional Artist Community, Renasant Bank; RISE – A Real Estate Company; The Valdosta Daily Times and Valdosta Magazine.

For a schedule and more information on participating in ARToberfest, call 229.247.2787 or visit turnercenter.org.