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After being rained out last weekend, the People’s Arts Festival at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit had some tough competition today with the Funky Ferndale Art Fair going on less than 10 miles away.
But that didn’t stop the crowds from coming out en masse on the last day of summer to what has become the largest arts festival in Detroit, according to its Web site. 2008 marked just the second year of the festival, which opened at 11 a.m. today and runs through midnight.
“It’s going pretty good, better than it was last year,” said John Robinson, 67, of Flat Rock, a security guard at the Russell Industrial Center. “They’re coming out like flies and there are no places to park.”
In the shadows of the massive old stamping plant-turned studio area, artists from all over metro Detroit as well as others who rent space in the complex displayed their works and hawked their wares (T-shirts, necklaces and more) while local bands played on four different stages. More than 40 bands were expected to play on the day.
Many of the works exhibited were a little edgier than what fair-goers are used to, including the 18-and-older erotic gallery, but plenty of classic landscape and portrait oil paintings as well as photographs of Detroit landmarks were on display.
Ryan Southen, 22, of Rochester is a photographer who rents a studio with six other artists in the Russell Industrial Center. He was impressed by the creativity of the artists and the diversity of the crowds.
“It’s been a blast and I’ve seen a lot of different people from a lot of different backgrounds,” he said. “It’s fun to see people getting together in the city. There are a lot of creative-type people around here and it just seems natural that (such a big festival) would come together here.”
For more information about the festival, go to www.rccadetroit.org/paf08.
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