TroyFest to kick off

The 2017 TroyFest Art & Craft Festival will be hosted on the downtown square this weekend and will showcase various arts including music, pottery, photography, woodwork, jewelry and more.

This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A kickoff concert featuring POPulus, Troy University’s pop music group, will take place on Thursday, April 27, at 7 p.m. on the square.

Morgan Drinkard, a journalism lecturer and publicity chair for TroyFest, said the festival is “premier” in the region.

“The TroyFest Art & Craft Festival, held in honor of Jean Lake, is the premier fine art and craft festival for the central Alabama region,” Drinkard said. “This year’s festival boasts more than 100 vendors, including 88 artists, community corner venders, food vendors and more.

“The artists’ gallery includes artists with pottery, photography, painting, graphic design, woodwork, glass, jewelry and ironwork,” Drinkard said.

According to the city’s website, the event was “formerly the Jean Lake Arts Festival for over 25 years, (and) was founded as a memorial to Jean Lake, a local visual artist who was highly regarded in the Southeast.”

Drinkard said that the festival is a special way for the Troy community to support art and artists, including returning artists.

“TroyFest is a special event for our community,” Drinkard said. “It’s a time to support the arts and fellowship with artists in downtown Troy.

“Many of these artists have been to TroyFest for a number of years, and we look forward to welcoming them back each year.”

The festival is free of charge and is presented by the city of Troy, the Pike County Chamber of Commerce, the Troy Arts Council and sponsors.