The 61st Annual Arts & Crafts Festival in Fairhope is slated for this weekend, March 15, 16 and 17.  Spring is nearing, and for many, it is their favorite season of the year. It couldn’t be nicer than in Fairhope, where thousands of beautiful flowers, including azaleas, are in full bloom.

More than 200 exhibitors from throughout the nation will bring their best works to display and sell at this prestigious juried show. There will be live

entertainment throughout the three-day event, and delicious cuisine will be served in the food court.  It all takes place on the streets of downtown Fairhope. Last year, the event attracted more than 300,000 visitors to the area.

The festival was chosen as one of the top 20 events in the southeast for March by the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and it was voted in the top 26 out of '100 Best Predominantly Classic & Contemporary Craft

Shows' in the nation by Sunshine Artist Magazine.  The event is also one of the top 20 events selected by the Southeast Tourism Society.

Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and there is no admission charge.  BRATS (Baldwin County Area Transportation System) will offer a shuttle service from the Plantation Point Shopping Center, Eastern Shore

Village and Ecor Rouge Place Center. All of the parking is free, and the locations are less than a five-minute ride away. The shuttle ride costs $2 each way. 

Sponsors for the 2013 event are: Presenting: PNC Bank; Stage: Coldwell Banker, Reehl Properties, Miller’s Grand Events; Gold: Faulkner State Community College, Inkworks, Pinzone’s Italian Downtown, Converge; Silver: Citizens Bank, Riviera Utilities; Dinner: Segers; Media: WABF 1220, Lite Mix 99.9, 95 KSJ, 92ZEW, Local 15, Fox 10, WKRG News 5, Baldwin Register and Gulf Coast Newspapers.

For complete information, find a copy of the annual 36 page special-edition Festival supplement found in March 12th editions of Gulf Coast Newspapers. 

You can access the full digital version of the festival guide HERE

or visit the website at www.eschamber.com/artscrafts.