Cherokee Parkway between Willow Avenue and Cherokee Road are lined with canvas tents, filled by the 200 artists selected for the Cherokee Triangle Art Fair. Hundreds of patrons wandered up and down the fair, conversing with the artists and occasionally buying pieces – jewelry, pottery, metalwork, windchimes and more.
Children played in the nearby playground and marched in the Children’s Parade Saturday morning. Throughout the day, kids crafted newspaper Derby hats, beaded bracelets, tissue-paper flowers and monster finger-puppets at the KMAC tent. Joanna Miller, KMAC’s education director, said she has been leading the booth for eight years, but the tradition is much older than that.
“We've been keeping up that tradition for a really long time. Some of the houses on the triangle keep newspapers for us all year long,” Miller said. “We just get to be the ones that help make art with children.”
Many patrons from across the city and state make it to the festival every year. Cari Divers lives in Bardstown, but she drove up for the first time this year. Divers said she loves art fairs because she is a crafter.
“I’m looking for inspiration,” Divers said. “I'm an art appreciator and I just love looking at the art, especially pottery.”
Louisville native Cynthia Vurgiss attended with her daughter and granddaughter and comes almost every year. She said she often also went to the St. James Art Fair but now she prefers Cherokee Triangle.
“St. James has gotten so big. This is much nicer; it’s the perfect size,” Vurgiss said. “You're not worn out when you leave.”
Vendor Bob Lockhart has been coming to the Cherokee Triangle Art Fair for 20 years. The award-winning sculpture and former Bellarmine professor said it's the only fair he does.
“You can count on this crowd coming, whether it rains or doesn't rain. They're an incredibly faithful crowd,” Lockhart said.
Lockhart, surrounded by his whimsical sculptures, said his favorite part about Cherokee Triangle is that he often sees his former students in the crowd. It’s the reason he still comes every year even though setting up gets a little more difficult with each passing year. At 82-years-old, Lockhart said this might have to be his last year.
“I am gonna miss it a lot. It’s like when I stopped teaching, I miss those young people,” Lockhart said.
Organizers said proceeds from the event help fund summer concerts in Willow Park, the Highlands/Shelby Park branch of the Louisville Free Public Library, Highlands Community Ministries and other local charities. The fair runs until 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
