Art is the only focus at Graue Mill festival

Natural beauty and history have made Graue Mill one of the most visited places in DuPage County.

It also makes the 166-year-old mill in Oak Brook the perfect backdrop for an annual event that's solely focused on art.

There won't be food, games or music this weekend at the 17th annual Graue Mill and Museum Fine Arts Festival. There will only be artists exhibiting and selling their work.

"It's just a nice outdoor art fair in a beautiful location," said Virginia Reisner, co-chairman of the committee that plans the festival.

The celebration is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 2 and 3, at 3800 York Road. Admission is free, but there is a fee to visit the mill and museum.

During the two-day event, roughly 30 artists from across the Western suburbs will display a variety of media, including photography, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, woodworking, and oil and acrylic paintings.

"We will have a little bit of everything," Reisner said. "We try to run a balanced show."

A committee selected each artist for the festival after reviewing photographs of their work. Reisner said it's a small show because space is limited.

Still, Reisner said the event is special because it attracts top-quality artists. She also said the mill is a nice environment for an art show.

"You get to see the mill and the forest preserve and spend the day out in the country," Reisner said.

If the weather is nice, organizers are expecting a very good turnout.

"There's a variety of reasons why people come out," Reisner said. "Some people come because they have been coming every year."

The event is a fundraiser for the not-for-profit DuPage Graue Mill Corp., which has operated the museum in the mill since the 1950s. Money raised from the artists' entry fees will be used to support the mill.

For information, visit grauemill.org.