Artists came together to kick off a nine-day escape into all thing’s art, with the 61st annual Bayfield Festival of Arts.

The event ran from Saturday, September 7th to Sunday September 8th, and was a great way for tourists and art lovers to learn about new creators from the Bayfield area and beyond.

“We’ve had a couple people drive two or three hours because they know a certain vendor artist that’s going to be here. And they’ll drive to Bayfield, they go to their favorite artists and then they’ll go sit and eat lunch, maybe get gas here. So, there is a really nice economic impact, positive economic impact when we do these events,” said Carol Fahrenkrog, executive director of the Bayfield Chamber of Commerce.

One of the artists displaying their work at the festival, Tony Strublic, began his art journey as a young boy, falling in love with the Titanic – much like many kids at the time – and as a Wisconsin native himself, the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Strublic began selling his maritime drawings fourteen years ago, and travels around the Great Lakes sharing his love of maritime works with the world.

“This (Bayfield) is an area with a lot of nautical history. And that’s where I tend to gravitate towards going. So, places like Luddington, Michigan; Sioux St. Marie; Duluth; those areas where there’s so much history there,” said Strublic.

As the lake breeze carried a party of bubbles across the bay, visitors carried home a newfound appreciation for their local artists.  

“Bayfield is known for artists. We have a lot of wonderful artists in Bayfield and Bayfield County over on Madeline Island… it’s just a really nice way to celebrate all things art and get people ready for the nine days of what they can choose to do here. And this is a beautiful time of year to come to Bayfield,” said Fahrenkrog.

The Bayfield Festival of Arts kicks off the third annual Art Escape! event, which is a nine-day celebration of all thing’s art across Bayfield County and Madeline Island from September 7th-15th.

For more information on the Bayfield Festival of Arts, go to Bayfield Festival of Arts

To learn more about Tony Strublic and his maritime artworks, go to Great Lakes Maritime Prints | Tony Strublic Maritime Artwork | WI (strublicmaritimedrawings.com)