YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – This year, the Summer Festival of the Arts will be back where it started.
The annual event will take place Saturday and Sunday at Youngstown State University, and the campus will be ready to show off its beauty and assets.
The festival moved to Wean Park, downtown, in 2021. At that time, campus officials said they wanted to reach out into the community.
The move back to the leafy YSU campus represents an about-face, but one that is welcome. Wean Park is grassy and spacious, but it proved to be too big for the festival, diluting its sense of togetherness. It also lacked much needed shade for a hot July day.
Shannon Tirone, associate vice president for university relations, is one of the spearheads of this year’s SFA. She’s glad the event is moving back to the place where it started 26 years ago.
“Many of us, myself included, loved the ability to showcase the beauty of the campus,” Tirone said. “It provides a park-like setting. Wean Park is a beautiful place, too, but it is a wide-open space, and that is what attracted us back [to campus].”
Tirone said the university is excited to once again open its campus to the community and showcase local artists, musicians and performing arts groups.
This year’s SFA will feature 98 artists and artisans – a larger number than usual – who will set up booths along the walkways of the campus quadrangle.
“The goal was to get 60 to 70 artists, but we’ve gone above and beyond that,” Tirone said. “It has amazed me. We’ve been receiving emails from people saying they’re so excited it’s back on campus.”
Tirone said the artists selected for SFA had to be approved by a committee of curators and will offer work of the highest quality and originality.
The festival will include a food truck area between Maag Library and The Butler Institute of American Art.
Live entertainment will be presented on stages near Kilcawley Center and the entrance to Ward Beecher Hall.
Here is the schedule:
SATURDAY
Stage 1
- 10 a.m.: Indie Bob.
- 11 a.m.: Tundra Tuxedo.
- 1 p.m.: The Gary Markasky Project.
Stage 2
- 10 a.m.: Fitch Concert Choir.
- 11 a.m.: Millennial Theatre Company.
- Noon: Hopewell Theatre.
- 1 p.m.: Ballet Western Reserve.
- 2 p.m.: Youngstown Playhouse youth troupe.
- 3 p.m.: Youngstown Playhouse.
- 4 p.m.: Youngstown Area Community Concert Band.
SUNDAY
Stage 1
- 11 a.m.: Brian Bonhomme.
- Noon: Leann Binder.
- 1 p.m.: Chris Higbee.
- 3 p.m.: JD Eicher.
Stage 2
- Noon: Rachell Joy-Tupaj.
Admission to the festival is free, as is parking in the surface lots along Fifth Avenue. The Wick Avenue parking deck will be closed.
Because of the Kilcawley Center renovation project, that building and the walkway and grassy area in front of it will be closed.
A welcome tent on the west side of Cushwa Hall will greet visitors entering the festival area from the Fifth Avenue parking lots.
The walkway between Cushwa and Beecher halls will be reserved for chalk artists, with CityScape providing chalk to those who want to participate.
Students Motivated by the Arts will operate a children’s art tent near Moser Hall, with the help of YSU students.
The SFA gives the university an opportunity to show its more unique aspects to the community, Tirone said, including facilities that many people do not know about.
Ward Beecher Planetarium will be open both days, with free 30-minute shows every hour on the hour from noon to 4 p.m.
The Smith Mineral Museum in Moser Hall and the Melnick Medical Museum in Cushwa Hall will also be open.
Maag Library will offer a sale of gently used books for all ages, and the McDonough Museum of Art will be open Saturday.
The Butler Institute of American Art will welcome festival-goers with a scavenger hunt, and the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor (the Steel Museum), 151 Wood St., will be open, with guided tours at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
“We will be showcasing some of the gems of our campus,” Tirone said. “People in the community might not ever come to campus to see just one of these [attractions], but this weekend you can experience them all.”
Artists
No matter where the festival takes place, its heart will always be the artists and artisans who set up shop. Visitors can stroll by and browse their wares. All art is for sale.
Making her first appearance at the SFA this year is Stephanie Nussle of Youngstown.
The YSU graduate and graphic artist will be selling rings and bracelets that she makes out of antique spoons that have intricate patterns or logos.
Her endeavor started after she bought ring making equipment last year.
“I was going to make them just for myself,” she said, but the rings proved to be so pleasing that she began selling them at art markets around the Valley.
To find spoons she can use, Nussle visits antique and thrift stores. “If I can bend them, I can use them,” she said.
She uses her equipment to cut and shape the spoons – which are either stainless steel or silver plated – into rings in an assortment of sizes.
Nussle also sells her rings on Etsy and Instagram.
Festival visitors can also take in “Grit/Glow,” a photography montage exhibition by Richard Hahn at the Steel Museum.
The exhibition highlights the duality of beauty and adversity in the city’s industrial history, according to Hahn. It’s a collection of large-scale works that are composites of photos made by Hahn.
The 15 pieces juxtapose the warmth of Youngstown’s once-vivid midnight orange skies with the stark realities of industry, revealing the paradox of beauty and hardship.
“My first childhood memories of Youngstown were of the pulsating orange glow reflecting off the clouds,” Hahn said. “It wasn’t until years later that I learned that those skies signaled prosperity and stability for the community.”
An opening night reception will take place at 5:30 p.m. today (July 10). The public is welcome.
For the 25th year, Bob Barko Jr. will show his work at the SFA.
The Youngstown-based fine graphic artist will offer artwork and collectibles that spotlight local pop culture, including Idora Park, Isaly’s deli chain, Mill Creek Park, the steel mills, theaters, historic neighborhoods, contemporary and historic downtown scenes and more.
Reproductions of his two latest drawings, “Retrospective YO” (22 inches by 28 inches) and “Youngstown State University” (16 inches by 20 inches) will also be available to purchase. The limited edition prints will include an artist’s certificate.
Barko launched his Steel Town Studios 25 years ago and is happy to mark the milestone back on the YSU campus.
“I first became involved with this event back when it was called Walk on Wick, when I was just starting out as a local artist,” Barko said.
Other Events
The Summer Festival of the Arts is the anchor of a big weekend of fun and entertainment. But it’s not the only thing going on in the campus and downtown areas.
Other events include:
- Youngstown Wine and Jazz Festival, 7 p.m. Saturday, at Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre. The concert will feature American jazz, R&B and pop singer Lindsey Webster. Her songs include “Fool Me Once,” “Where Do You Want to Go,” “Back to Your Heart” and “Open Up.” The opening act is Hubb’s Groove. Tickets are $20 for stagefront seating and $10 for lawn (bring blanket or lawn chair).
- St. Nicholas Church Greek Summerfest, 20 N. Walnut St., featuring Greek food, music and dancing. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
- Youngstown Flea, a market for unique art and artisan crafted items, 365 E. Boardman St., downtown (near Penguin City Brewing), 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
- Mahoning Valley Irish Festival, at Penguin City Brewing, 5-11 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday ($5; free for children under 12).
Pictured at top: Shannon Tirone, associate vice president for university relations, said the Youngstown State University campus has pulled together to bring back the Summer Festival of the Arts.