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Montana jeweler in Spokane for largest Artfest since the pandemic

At the Finches and Friends booth, Nancy and Kurt Wickre decide which metal hummingbird to buy on the opening day of ArtFest being held on the campus of the Museum of Arts and Culture. In its 39th year, the art and fine crafts festival continues through Sunday. (COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
At the Finches and Friends booth, Nancy and Kurt Wickre decide which metal hummingbird to buy on the opening day of ArtFest being held on the campus of the Museum of Arts and Culture. In its 39th year, the art and fine crafts festival continues through Sunday. (COLIN MULVANY/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
By Alexandria Osborne The Spokesman-Review

One of Spokane’s largest art events, ArtFest, is continuing to grow after its size plunged in the pandemic.

The event, which features 80 artists’ booths and food vendors on the grounds of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture opened Friday and runs through Sunday.

The family-friendly event was founded to raise money for the museum, but it also supports the artistic community, said Marit Fischer, MAC chief marketing officer.

“We wouldn’t be here without art, and we really believe in giving back to the community, so we wanted to create this community event,” Fischer said.

Missoula artist Claire Mannheimer has been coming to ArtFest with her business, Adorn to Rise, since it restarted after the pandemic.

Mannheimer, who has been creating jewelry for 13 years, graduated from Humboldt State University in California where she was studied under the jewelry and metalsmith program.

“My work is everyday wearable, but there is some larger intention behind it,” she said. “They’re all basically inspired by my own inner work but intended to empower the wearer in some kind of way.”

Mannheimer said the setting of the Spokane ArtFest is beautiful, and she enjoys working with the organizers.

In Missoula, she has an appointment-only store downtown with a display case for people to pick up orders and attend their shopping appointments.

The exhibition of Harold Balazs, a famous local artist, is closing Sunday; admission inside the museum is covered in the new $5 admission fee, Fischer said.

Some of Balazs’s pieces, including some that are signed, are far sale at a booth at the festival. The art was donated to MAC by his daughters.

Fischer said the museum kept some of the pieces for itself, but the proceeds from the pieces sold this weekend will go back to the museum.

In previous years, attendance was free but vendors were concerned about the security of the event and the community at large asked to see a better music lineup, so the new admissions fee was implemented this year, she said.

The music lineup this weekend includes jazz artists, a middle school marimba band and other local artists.

All proceeds support education and community events through the MAC. Anna Bresnahan, MAC chief development officer, and ArtFest director, said in past years the event had brought in around $20,000 each year, but she expects to bring in over $30,000 because of the fee.

ArtFest originally was held on the grounds of the MAC and later moved to Coeur d’Alene Park, growing to more than 150 vendors a year. The event was moved back to the museum when it restarted in 2022 after the pandemic.

Bresnahan said the first ArtFest after the pandemic brought in 60 vendors and in 2023, 68 vendors set up at the event; this year, around 80 vendors have set up booths.