Osceola County’s premiere art festival — the 2012 Osceola Fall Art Festival returns to the streets of downtown Kissimmee this weekend.

The festival, which will be held from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. today and Sunday, will feature more than 75 professional artists from across the country, as well as local artists and crafters, live entertainment and children’s art activities.

“We are looking forward to bringing so many talented local and national artists back to Historic Downtown Kissimmee and sharing this wonderful, family-friendly cultural event with our community” said Jules Davidson, Festival Director.

Art categories include oils & acrylics, water color & pastels, graphics & drawing, photography, sculpture, clay & metal, jewelry, glass, wood, and mixed media.  All artwork and crafts will be available to purchase.

Admission and parking are free and a shuttle is available on Saturday from the Osceola County Courthouse parking garage directly to Broadway.

Produced by the Osceola Center for the Arts and Kissimmee Main Street, the Festival has been taking place in Osceola County for more than 40 years.

Many of downtown Kissimmee’s  antique shops, boutiques and unique restaurants will be open during the event.

Call 407-846-6257 or visit www.ocfta.com for more information.

Sculptures

Kissimmee Main Street will be unveiling the sixth annual Kissimmee Sculpture Experience during the 2012 Osceola Fall Art Festival.

During the festival, Kissimmee Main Street will be providing a guided walking tour through the new Sculpture Experience as a part of the reveal. The tour will be taking place on Saturday, at 1 PM. Self-guided walking tour brochures for the 2012–2013 Kissimmee Sculpture Experience will be available at the Kissimmee Main Street Welcome Station and future guided walking tours will be announced in the new year.

The Sculpture Experience contains more than 20 sculptures with sculptors ranging as far north as Connecticut. The eclectic mix of art has also arrived from other states such as Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, with numerous pieces arriving from our home state of Florida.

“As the guest curator, I enjoyed working with the City of Kissimmee and Kissimmee Main Street staff. We were able to bring a much larger, vibrant and diverse sculpture experience to Kissimmee. In addition, three of the pieces were fabricated just for this exhibit, which is a first time occurrence in Kissimmee,” said John Marc Hayes, art consultant for 2012–2013 Kissimmee Sculpture Experience.

Kissimmee Main Street is currently accepting sponsorships at $100 per sculpture for the 2012–2013 show and will feature the company’s logo on the sculpture’s plaque. Each sculpture is on sale with 20 percent of the proceeds going to Kissimmee Main Street to further arts inthe community.

The Kissimmee Sculpture Experience was created in 2006 by Phyllis Ross and is an annual exhibit of outdoor sculptures placed around Downtown Kissimmee.  The year-long event had over 3,000 individuals take the walking tour in the past year, allowing Kissimmee Main Street to blend historic, cultural and artistic aspects in the community.

For a complete list of artists and more information on the Kissimmee Sculpture Experience visit www.kissimmeemainstreet.com or call 407-846-4643.

Kissimmee Main Street is a nationally accredited Main Street program that focuses on historic preservation with economic development to restore prosperity and vitality to downtown and neighborhood business districts.

It’s a Wrap

Plans are underway for the St. Cloud Main Street Holiday Decorating Contest.

Homes will be judged Dec. 14 homes between Florida and Massachuseets avenues,  13th St. to Lakeshore. Participants got a lesson in decorating from Home Depot, which is sponsorng contest. The winner gets a $100 shopping spree at a downtown merchant. There will be wagon rides to take visitors through the decoration experience. The winners will be announced Dec. 21 at the next St. Cloud Main Street  Hipstoric event.