2023 Springville Art Crawl
2023 Springville Art Crawl
Springville Center for the Arts and Volunteers Organize Annual Event
Photos / Alex Simmons & Jamey Jean
I live in Ellicottville and am very accustomed to large, person-powered events that take place regularly on our beloved streets. We almost take them for granted as they almost magically re-appear year after year to delight and entertain us. We should not. They are tons of work – no magic.
I can’t help but love my town and village, but I am also a great fan of Springville, 18 minutes south of us, which often buffers the winter snows between us and Buffalo. I am grateful to this little geographic region, and I love supporting their businesses and endeavors. Imagine my surprise when I found that the upcoming Springville Arts Crawl (June 3rd) and 4:30pm parade (adopted from now defunct Dairy Fest - year 2) is run by a small handful of employees at the Springville Center for the Arts, along with 40 or 50 generous volunteers who devote time, talent, energy, muscle, and lost sleep to this endeavor. Who runs this? I asked. Not the Chamber?
“Well, no, we no longer have a Chamber… it’s on us,” said Cassandra Cross at the non-profit Springville Center for the Arts. The endeavor is quite ambitious. My head spins as I think of the many parts and pieces to this giant puzzle on Main Street, Springville, called the Arts Festival which has been a staple in Springville for many years but has morphed into this community-wide celebration of art and fun and kids and families and, and, and… You just have to see it!
The point of the endeavor is to spotlight area artists (60 of them - 175 pieces out of over 300 submitted). The works have been juried by gallery curator for Wyoming County, Jacqueline Swaby, multiple galleries owner, Emily Tucker, and Alberto Rey, whose work has been featured in over 200 exhibitions and screenings in the United States and internationally. Hardly small fry, their stamp of approval guarantees that you will find top quality art hung throughout the main street business establishments.
Yes, they are all for sale. Your informative brochure will give the details for the how to’s because you can’t just pick something off a wall and take it to the restaurant or store cashier. By the way, the artists are regional, mainly from Springville and surrounding areas with some from Ellicottville and Jamestown. The artwork consists of photography, acrylics, watercolors, pottery, ceramics, hand-carved Pacific/Native American wooden masks, stained glass, plaster 3-D pieces, jewelry, etc. The Art Crawl goes until 8:00pm. Then it’s time for the adults to enjoy the after-party until 11:00pm.
The parade kicks off the celebrations. It starts at Heritage Park, hangs a right on Main, then right on North Buffalo and back to Franklin. You might be able to slip Santa your wish list as he passes by with his Mrs. Trevett Tree Farms and Springville Dairy will have fun floats to watch. For me, the big thing is the elementary, middle, and high school musicians from Springville Griffith Institute. It brings back memories of my own kiddos marching in parades in Ellicottville - sweltering in their hot uniforms but toughing it out anyway.
From 5:00-8:00pm, kids will have loads of opportunities for showing off their artwork or creating new. Look for the UNOVA Co-Working tent on Mechanic Street where the K-12 artists’ works (juried by their teachers) are hung for you to enjoy. At SPARK, another feature dedicated to kids’ creativity, kids ages 2-5 are encouraged to explore, interact, and create based on the Reggio Emilia model of educating children. At the core of the Reggio Emilia philosophy is its emphasis on building and sustaining relationships (https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/what-is-reggio-emilia/). The tent is staffed by SCA interns who will moderate music, visual arts, movement etc. to the children’s delight. If you have little ones, go there first. Open until 8:00pm.
Kids will love the petting zoo (Mechanic Street area) with a chance to pet or even snuggle farm animals, lawn mowing goats from Let’s Goat Buffalo, and rescue pups from Queen City Pitties. Suggestion: bring a carrier, blankey, treats, and leash in case you find yourself going home with a new furry pal. Hey, you never know when love at first boop will happen! (https://www.hillspet.com/dog-care/play-exercise/do-dogs-like-dog-boops?lightboxfired=true)
For a complete list of events - too many to count for the adults - go online to https://springvilleartcrawl.com. Be sure to visit the new home of Springville center for the Arts in the Baptist Church (on National Register of Historic Places) across from Fiddlers’ Green Park. Happy Crawl, everyone!
