Riverssance Festival of Fine Art will be back Sept. 16 and 17 at Lindsay Park in the Village of East Davenport, and is celebrating its 35th year as the premier fine arts festival of the Quad Cities, showcasing over 80 top artists from the Midwest.
The fest also features regional musical entertainment, outstanding food from area restaurants, a wine-tasting booth, craft beer tent, and a free children’s art tent, according to a Quad City Arts news release.
The hours will be Saturday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. General admission to Riverssance is $5 for the day or $8 for a weekend pass. Free entry for people under 18 with a paid adult. Entry gates are on 11th Street. Parking is available in the lot across River Drive on Mound Street.
This year’s Riverssance local music lineup includes:
Saturday:
- 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Frankie Jo & Kinfolk
- 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.: Bucktown Revue
- 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Totes McGotes
Sunday:
- 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.: David G. Smith
- 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.: Lojo Russo
- 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.: Lewis Knudsen
Food vendors on-site will include Bayside Bistro, Chick N’Dips (Saturday only), Justin’s Tacos, and Lagomarcino’s. Local wine and craft beer will be available for purchase, along with the traditional Riverssance hand-painted glasses. Stop by the wine tent and purchase a specialty glass.
Harley Award winner
A public reception to honor this year’s Harley Award Recipient Award for outstanding support of the visual arts will be held on Saturday at 5:30 p.m., for Dee Schricker. A native Iowa artist living in Blue Grass, Schricker creates in paint, clay, fabric, metal, and mixed media. Most of her work is contemporary and abstract.
An artist since high school, Dee quit her day job in 1998 and began to focus on art full-time starting with Raku pottery and fiber art, eventually opening her own gallery in 2006 at the former Bucktown Center for the Arts in downtown Davenport, according to Quad City Arts.
“Bucktown was an amazing community of local artists supporting each other. I would share space in my gallery to promote other artists who needed a place to sell, show, and create,” she said. “We thrived in each other’s creativity and offered the public an entertaining place to gather.”
Over 100 Final Fridays and hundreds of painted wine glasses later, Schricker closed the gallery in 2018 but continued to be involved with the art community, teaching Raku techniques and glaze-making at the Bereskin Art Academy and others.
“I never wanted to quit creating but the Raku work was physically demanding so I opted to concentrate on my favorite medium, acrylic painting and mixed media,” she said. “I would tell young artists to be fearless. Try new mediums and techniques, and always create for yourself.”
“Dee has been an art influence for countless artists in the community and we are pleased to honor her this year,” the festival release says.
For more information and festival photos, visit the QC Arts website HERE.
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