Deadline for artists to apply is January 20
By Tad Wilkes, Nightlife & Lifestyles Editor
The frigid, grey days of January belie the quickness with which spring, and with it the 2013 Double Decker Arts Festival, will arrive. Set for April 26 and 27, the festival continues to take shape, with some tweaks and changes from previous years—including how art vendors are vetted for the Saturday art displays. The festival features 160 vendor spots on the Square to be filled with art, and the deadline to apply is January 20.
“We switched to an online application system called Zapplication this year,” explains says Mary-Kathryn Herrington, Oxford Convention and Visitors Bureau director of tourism and marketing, says. “Arts festivals all over the country use it, and it will make it easier on us and also for the artist. They aren’t charged anything to set up a Zapp profile, and then they can see shows all over the country that are seeking applicants.”
And the Double Decker organizers are adding another way to expose festival-goers to works by artists who may not be participating as Saturday vendors.
“We’ll have a studio tour that is coordinated by the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, and people can either buy tickets to get on the Double Decker bus, which will make a loop to the studios on Friday [April 26], or they can buy a map to the studios from us. Those ticket prices and times are to be determined, but we are definitely doing the tours. We will also have some artists that are doing demonstrations on the courthouse lawn on Saturday, which is an element we’ve never had before.”
Art vendors will display and sell their work all day Saturday; live music will rock on both Friday and Saturday.
Though music acts aren’t yet nailed down, organizers look to begin shoring up specifics during January. The full music lineup should be announced by February.
The festival draws 55,000 people to Oxford annually for food, music, and art. Businesses can still sign up for sponsorships, and artists can apply for vendor space until January 15. For information on both, click here.
