Both bargains and fun can be found at the Bear on the Square Mountain Festival’s Mountain Marketplace the third weekend in April on the Public Square in Dahlonega. Smart shoppers will find North Georgia’s finest market of traditional crafts, a remarkable collection featuring one-of-a-kind, handmade items available for purchase directly from some the mountain region’s best artists.
The upcoming 14th annual festival, scheduled Friday through Sunday, April 16-18, in Dahlonega, will benefit from having the John C. Campbell Folk School as Marketplace sponsor for the second consecutive year. Open on Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., the marketplace will have a John C. Campbell Folk School section along North Park Street. In this area will be a tent where the work of the the folk school’s demonstrating artists as well as work from the school’s Craft Gallery will be available for purchase. Those artists from the folk school who will be demonstrating their work include Jan Stansell, basketry; Helen Gibson and Carolyn Anderson, woodcarving; Mike Lalone, clay; Paul Garrett, blacksmithing; Joe Kilmer, chairmaking; and Nancy Jones, gourd art.
The John C. Campbell Folk School, located in Brasstown, N. C., offers week-long and weekend classes year round in traditional and contemporary arts and crafts, music, dance, cooking, gardening, writing, and photography. Visitors are encouraged to stop by the 300-acre campus to visit the studios, tour the History Center where 20th Century Appalachia is on display, and browse through the Craft Shop, which features the juried work of over 300 artists. The campus also hosts a concert series with some of the finest regional and national acts performing old-time, bluegrass, folk and Celtic music, as well as community Contra dances. More information is available at their website.
The Bear on the Square Mountain Marketplace will once again be made up of a remarkable collection of one-of-a-kind, handmade art and crafts. Held around the Historic Public Square in Dahlonega, it will continue its tradition of presenting the juried work from an impressive group of top quality artists.
Returning to the Marketplace this year is North Georgia folk artist Billy Roper, Heritage Sponsor for the festival, who plans to both exhibit and demonstrate his work. In all, there will be some 30 artists, including 10 who are new to the Bear on the Square Marketplace and 20 returning artists. There will also be a booth from the SouthEastern Bluegrass Association (SEBA).
Other booths will contain a wide selection of work from painters, including several folk artists, a blacksmith, crochet artists, a broom maker, furniture makers, a gourd artist, honey and soap makers, mixed media artists, a musical instrument maker, a pencil drawing artist, a photographer, potters, quilt makers, a stained glass artist, wood carvers, and exhibits from major sponsors of the festival.
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