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‘Sights and sounds’ enliven Glen Ellyn art fest

The Glen Ellyn Festival of the Arts is all about sights and sounds.

Lawn decorations, pottery, necklaces, postcards and framed paintings graced a backdrop of water, mature trees and grassy space at Lake Ellyn Park, forming the sights of the festival.

An “Eclectic Blanket Picnic” lineup of musicians, including a 10-piece mariachi band and an Afro-Latin jazz quintet, provided the sounds.

“It was always an arts fest with music, but it is sight and sound — that’s what makes it different from most art fests,” said Geoff Bevington, a member of the Glen Ellyn Lions Club, which organized the event. “It’s not often you see a 10-piece mariachi band in Lombard or Glen Ellyn.”

Many at the festival Saturday afternoon browsed the white tents where 83 artists displayed their creations. Wendy Tupy of Streamwood displayed her paintings of outdoor scenes inspired by photographs from Italy in the festival’s appropriate outdoor setting.

“I like architecture so I like to do architectural landscapes,” she said.

Others relaxed at picnic tables with beers or smoothies listening to the mix of bands play a sound track for the event.

And the young ones found a few entertainment spots with a clown, a face painter, balloons and a kids art area dedicated to splatter painting.

Allison Kelley’s son Brenden wouldn’t let the Winfield family leave the 42nd annual festival without taking time to make a splatter painting. And Kelley, who grew up in Glen Ellyn, remembers making candles and other art projects at the festival during her childhood.

“It attracts the kids because it’s something they can do for fun,” Kelley said about the kids area as she watched Brenden, 4, fling paint toward paper on an easel. “It also brings out their artsy side and gives them a chance.”

The festival, which continues from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, is the most profitable fundraiser of the year for the Lions Club. The group uses its money to support charities for people with visual and hearing disabilities, which adds meaning to the event’s blend of sights and sounds, member Mark Stauber said.

“It’s art and music and food and enjoying all the different aspects of it,” Stauber said. “We try to bring it together.”

  Maryanne Engelhardt of Arlington Heights looks at art by Thomas Trausch on Saturday during the Glen Ellyn Festival of the Arts at Lake Ellyn Park. PAUL MICHNA/Pmichna@dailyherald.com