Bonita Springs National Art Festival

The 15th annual National Art Festival will take place again March 8-9 in a new location this year in downtown Bonita Springs at Riverside Park.  Formerly held at a parking lot at The Promenade at Bonita Bay, this new location was a big hit for the January and February shows.  The Center for the Arts of Bonita Springs presents 3 fine arts/fine crafts festivals each year in Bonita Springs, featuring the art of 230 national and international artists.  You can still catch the March festivals located at 10450 Reynolds Street on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9 from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Rated one of the top Fine Arts Festivals in the U.S., artists are carefully selected by a juried panel of experts.  Both the January and March festivals have consistently ranked in the top 20 in the U.S. out of thousands of arts festivals that are held each year.  The February festival was its inaugural year, thus not yet ranked.  The region’s warm winter weather and the sophistication of the 20,000+ festival attendees who flock to the festival make this annual festival a hit each year.  All three festivals draw the very best artists from the U.S., Canada, South America and Europe. Artist entrants are judged based on quality and originality to allow artists to exhibit and sell original paintings, drawings, pastels, photography, handcrafted jewelry, clay works, ceramics, glass art, metal sculpture and more.  The cost to attend is an optional $5 donation.  Festival proceeds support community art activities.  Proceeds raised through the festivals from donations made at the gate and artist application and booth fees stay in Bonita Springs and go toward the Center for the Arts to provide scholarships, exhibitions, community events, and low cost youth and adult art programs and classes.  The Bonita Springs National Arts Festival is run by all volunteers.