Y Bridge Art Festival brings art, culture and food to downtown

ZANESVILLE − Eight months of work came to fruition over the weekend as the annual Y Bridge Arts Festival kicked off its 14th year.

Co-chaired by Ron Cole and Mark Goodall, the event brings together artists from Muskingum County and beyond.

Tents lined the streets outside of the Muskingum County Visitors Center, offering wares ranging from handmade jewelry and paintings to welded metal twisted into lawn and home decor.

"This is our 14th annual Y Bridge Arts Festival, and it means so much to us that you came to spend your time with us. We know you're busy people and have other places you could be, but you chose to be here with us, thank you," said ArtCoz President Erin Cole at the opening ceremony held Friday evening.

Attendees meandered the streets purchasing art and talking with artists. Performers hit the stage throughout the festival. Friday featured Brian Smith, A2J Dance Co., the Y-City Barbershop Chorus, Steve Spires Band and Big Fat Dog. Saturday brought Marjorie's School of Dance, Mike Hawley, 50 Years After Band, Christina Holmes, Evan Abood and more to the stage.

The winner of this year's $2,000 Art Within Us Linda Regula Legacy Scholarship is Breanna Cosgrove. She is a graduate of John Glenn and will be attending Miami University to study architecture and music performance. The scholarship is a joint project between ArtCoz and You Will Rise, an anti-bullying project. The scholarship is given in honor of the festival founder Linda Regula.

The visitor's center was packed with more vendors, artist and the children's art station. Organized by the Zanesville Museum of Art and Gail Glagola, children could make a variety of culturally diverse artwork. Mexican tin ornaments, Australian/aboriginal dot paintings and Japanese koinobori kites are just a few examples of the projects Glagola readied for the festival.

Food trucks kept the crowd from going hungry, offering pizza, beers, bourbon chicken and Schimdt's Sausage Haus' famous cream puffs.

Artists interested in participating in the festival next year or those wishing to volunteer can reach out to ArtCoz at www.artcoz.org . Applications are now being accepted for the Holiday ArtFest, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11.

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Y Bridge Art Festival brings art, culture and food to downtown