Annual Harvest Arts Festival brings artists, craftsmen to Main Street

Students and their parents gathered as a dozen local artists and craftsmen assembled their booths for Newark Arts Alliance’s fourth annual Harvest Arts Festival on Saturday. The event took place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the lawn of the Academy Building on Main Street.

Sophomore Tracy Kao said the event, which coincided with parents’ weekend, attracted a lot of attention from the community. Kao, who volunteered for the event, said the Harvest Arts Festival was a fun way to accumulate the 100 hours of community service required for her hotel, restaurant and institution management major. 

“I think it’s a great way for the Newark residents to show out-of-state people what’s in the area,” Kao said.

The festival featured live performances of local musicians, as well as arts and craft projects for children. 

Freshman Austin Cabot of New Jersey said his grandmother participates in similar festivals, so he was excited to explore what Newark residents had to present.

“The live music is good,” Cabot said. 

Dan Delcollo, a 64-year-old resident of Newark, said he first attended the event last year with his brother-in-law Mark Di Iorio. Di Iorio sells his artwork at the festival. He said he has been painting for the last thirty years, alternating between oil, acrylic and other mediums.  

Delcollo said the festival provided the perfect place for his brother-in-law to showcase his work.

“[The festival] has helped him to really feel good about what he does, and many people are just intrigued with the type of work he does,” Delcollo said. 

Delcollo said he will attend the festival again with his brother-in-law next year. He said some of Di Iorio’s work had already been sold and he received a commission from a local resident who attended the festival. He said he hopes events like this will continue to promote Di Iorio’s paintings.  

Delcollo said the festival was a great opportunity for local artists to show off their work. He said he hopes events like this will encourage residents and students to interact more with the local community.