Art Fair Returns to Market Square Sunday

The annual Art Fair on the Square from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and Monday in Lake Forest is a lot more than a festival of fine art.

The display by 180 artists over 16 different media not only brings a world-wide view of creativity to Lake Forest, but funds a year’s worth of activities for the Deer Path Art League, according to Marketing, Promotion and Development Chairman Barbara Fenton.

Earlier: Photo Gallery: Deer Path Art League Brings Visual to Market Square

“This is their gift to the community,” Fenton said of the show. “It’s also our largest fundraiser though it’s free (to all visitors). The money comes from advertising, sponsors and the artist’s entry fees. It funds all our programs for the year.”

Many of the art festivals throughout the North Shore are private for profit affairs, the Art Fair on the Square has been put on by the Deer Path Art League since 1954.

While the show is a two day festival bringing artists from around the world and people from the entire Chicago area as well as Wisconsin, the League has regular art exhibit all year as well as conducting classes for both youth and adults.

Along with the exhibits and classes, the proceeds from the fair fund a scholarship. “The scholarship is given in the spring to a Lake Forest High School student committed to studying fine art in college,” Fenton said.

Not just any artist can set up shop on Market Square. “It’s a juried show,” Fenton said. “It’s a blind submission process.”

Though Fenton expects as many as 30,000 people to visit the show over the two days, the exhibit space has been expanded to Forest Avenue to assure plenty of room for visitors. “It’s about people being able to walk, talk and push a stroller without being overwhelmed by crowds,” Fenton said.

In addition to the corporate sponsors, four not for profit organizations—the Citadel Theater Company, Ragdale, the Lake Forest Symphony and the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago—with roots in the community will share a booth taking the opportunity to let people know more about their organizations.