So last Saturday the 27th was the Liberty Arts Festival in Morris, IL. It was a pretty cool festival. They set up downtown Morris on Liberty street and in front of the court house. There were numerous tents of artists some with paintings, some with woodworking, candles, demonstrations, etc. There were poms dance teams performing and a culinary arts demonstration, a culinary class, and samples (yumm!).
We took our dogs (who were very well-behaved, thankfully) and we got to walk around and see how they set up the festival. Another really cool idea the town had was the “sip n’walk” for those over 21. They had a tent where they checked your ID and then gave you a wrist band, a cup, and a map. From there you could go to any of the participating stores downtown and try the cocktail that they had created. There was a spicy margarita,, a warm hard cider, creamsicle, watermelon lime punch, pumpkin patch, kahlua and cream, among others. After you sampled all of the drinks (and spent way too much money at all of the cute shops!), you could vote on your favorite cocktail. The proceeds of the winning cocktail went to the charity of that stores choice. There were charities for humane societies, human rights, human trafficking, homeless veterans, and more. Plus, by voting, we were entered into a raffle to win a $250 shopping spree downtown!
I had a really fun day at the Liberty Arts Festival and I’m grateful that my town hosts an event like this. Especially considering it was free to participate. I thought it was a great idea to get more people to check out the shops downtown and to create a greater sense of community. Plus I really loved that the proceeds went to greater causes.
Next year I hope to participate. I plan on creating more artwork and having it printed between now and then so I have a wider range of products to sell. I also need to print some business cards and develop a set-up for how to display my art. For now, I’m just going to keep plugging away. My latest project had been a series of donuts and pastries that I plan on creating some patterns with, maybe even selling as stock photos. If you’re interested, follow me on Instagram at instagram.com/artbyurb for my latest work.
