Barrington Art Festival Returns This Weekend

The third annual Barrington Art Festival returns to Cook and Station Streets this holiday weekend, May 26-27, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This year’s festival will feature more than 140 juried artists from around the globe, as well as live music, food and activities for kids. Admission and parking are free.

Amdur Productions, a nationally acclaimed arts festival production company that has been in the business since 1984, has produced the Barrington Art Festival from the start, in partnership with the village of Barrington and the Barrington Cultural Commission. 

“Barrington has been amazing,” said Amy Amdur, the founder of Amdur Productions. “It is an educated community that appreciates art.”

While the festival will still include works or art in a variety of mediums, several changes have been made for this year, including a slightly changed layout that will extend all the way to Hough Street. This layout is handicapped accessible and stroller friendly. 

A variety of free programs have been added for this year, including interactive art demos, in which festival-goers can observe the art-making process, as well as several youth activities.

“There will be a youth area with a variety of free art projects, such as creating your own masterpiece or drawing your dream house,” said Amdur. “It’s all about encouraging creativity.”

Of the more than 140 artists at the festival, there will be three youth exhibitors from the Barrington area. All of the artists were selected in January by a jury of art educators, collectors and writers, Amdur explained.

“When people were thinking about shoveling their driveways, we were planning this festival,” she added.

Live music from Cirrus Falcon and Mark Adamczyk will also be featured at the festival, as well as a variety of street food vendors serving everything from cinnamon roasted nuts to funnel cakes.

The Barrington Art Festival is the first outdoor art event of the season in the Chicago Area, and is open to Barrington residents of all ages.

“It’s a really unique event,” said Amdur. “There are not a whole lot of things that you can still do that are multigenerational.”