Centerfest celebrates local art

The 34th annual CenterFest Arts Festival is the largest and longest-running community arts celebration in North Carolina. This two-day long festival, held on Foster St. in the historic Central Park district of downtown Durham, falls this year on Sept. 15 and 16. It not only includes numerous artists and vendors, but also features performances ranging from Audioform, a jazz-funk group from Charlotte, to the Bouncing Bulldogs, a nationally-ranked rope skipping team.

Organized by the Durham Arts Council in partnership with local sponsors, CenterFest hopes to be a unique open-community event, offering up local foods, back-to-back varied performances on three different stages, an incredible array of artists and activities to keep everyone engaged.

"We don't have that many events in town that focus on the arts," said Sherry DeVries, executive director of the Durham Arts Council. "Sure there is the Bluesfest and the Eno festival, but CenterFest is the big signature arts festival. I think it's important for communities to have a venue for local and regional artists to showcase and sell their work."

The range of visual artists represented this weekend will be extensive. The 104 artists picked by a jury of local art professors and studio owners will offer hand-crafted works for sale, varying from wood to glass to photography pieces and more.

Originally created as a venue to highlight the quality and quantity of local craft artists as a means for them to sell their pieces to the public, CenterFest has evolved into a full interactive and entertaining event that appeals to more than just art aficionados. In addition to arts and entertainment, there will even be 30 non-profit organizations present to promote community awareness of the projects and opportunities they are involved in.

"One of the things I'm most proud of, when you look at the people who come, it's people you've never seen before," said Margaret DeMott, the director of artist services at the DAC. "The community really is here, wants to come and feels welcomed."

A major part of the festival entertainment consists of the performing arts. With three stages located throughout the festival area offering up more than 25 performances total, this year's showcase will be no exception. The North Stage will feature jazz, gospel a capella and even an old-time string band, whereas the South Stage will serve up some R&B, blues and reggae music as a nice compliment. And if you're into performances with a bit more movement involved, there is the Midway Stage offering international flair. Among its two-day line up are groups dedicated to Indian Bhangra dance, classical Asian dance, Spanish Flamenco dancing and even cheerleading... performed by the grandmother-aged Durham Seniorette Divas.

A private non-profit group, the Durham Arts Council funds and coordinates numerous programs focused on nourishing the arts in both Durham and the triangle area of North Carolina throughout the year, with CenterFest as the culminating event. And with temperatures dropping and the mid-semester crunch in sight, CenterFest is a celebration fit for the end of summer.