For over
thirty years, exhibitors have lined the pavement within Melgaard
Park with their wares hoping to have just what those in attendance
want to purchase. When the Festival started in 1976, attendees
were encouraged to “spend a happy day in the park”
at the Aberdeen Arts Festival. Attendance at the first festival
was estimated between 3,000 and 4,000. Pat Meachem Fries designed
the original logo. Betsy Rice, and the late Belva Duncan and the
late Beth Wray were the first general chairmen. Advertising those
early years included young boys walking up and down Main Street
wearing sandwich boards and the logo being printed on side-panels
of half-gallon milk cartons. By the second year, almost 80 exhibitors
were registered to be a part of the Aberdeen Arts Festival.
Throughout the years, the general public often referred to the
event as “Arts in the Park” even though the formal
name was the “Aberdeen Arts Festival.” Volunteers
from the community helped organize the event each year. In 1998,
the committee worked with the Aberdeen Area Arts Council to start
the process of turning the event over to the Arts Council. In
1999, the Aberdeen Area Arts Council voted to change the name
to “Arts in the Park” and also introduced a new logo.
Arts in the Park is held on the third full weekend in June. It is
estimated that over 20,000 people go through the park during the
two-day event.
If you would like more information on Arts in the Park or would
like to know how to get an application to apply for a booth space,
Click Here.
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