Columbus Arts Festival has grown into major event over its 60-year run

The Columbus Arts Festival, set for June 10-12 along the Downtown riverfront, was held on the Ohio Statehouse lawn for its first 20 years.

It started with the same mission — to showcase creativity — but it had a different vibe.

When it debuted in 1962, it was on a much smaller, homegrown scale. Artists displaying their works were from places such as Ohio State and Capital universities, the Columbus College of Art & Design, and Columbus schools. The art was not for sale; artists competed for prizes.

In 1974, the event was expanded to include High Street, and it took on a “street fair” flair with arts and crafts not entered in the juried show. The entire outdoor art gallery of sorts moved west to the riverfront for the 1983 festival because three big construction projects near the Statehouse were creating dust and traffic issues.

The Dispatch editorialized that the more spacious venue that year was “a happy June wedding of two of the city’s greatest natural resources — the artistic talents of its residents and the beauty of its Scioto River.” The event never returned to the Statehouse grounds.

Crowds increased and so did its reputation for attracting artists from beyond Columbus; it is now a nationally ranked arts festival. It relocated temporarily to the Discovery District in 2008 when the riverfront area was being redeveloped, before returning in 2012.

Except for a recent two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, it has run for 60 years. Plans were to relocate the festival to the Arena District this year, but after reviewing traffic flow, a decision was made to remain along the Scioto River and on the Main and Rich street bridges.

The free event showcases music, dance, theater and other performances, food, and hands-on art activities. Festivalgoers can see and shop for works by 200-plus juried visual artists.

The festival, organized by the Greater Columbus Arts Council, is funded through partnerships and sponsors.

Contributor Linda Deitch was a Dispatch librarian for 25 years.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Arts Festival has evolved, grown over its six decades