Art on the Island set for September 29

The Madison County Arts Council will present the 7th annual ‘Art On The Island’ Festival on beautiful Blannahassett Island in downtown Marshall, North Carolina, on Saturday, September 29. 

Art on the Island serves as an economic and cultural celebration of creativity in Madison County and Western North Carolina. Attendees can enjoy special hands-on activities for young and old, live demonstrations of natural dyeing, batik dyeing, brick making and interactive sculpture building. There will also be a sculpture display area featuring work of various sizes. This all day affair presents artists, crafters, food, hands-on fun, and kid’s activities from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public. 

“As an artist I love participating in Art on the Island. The location by the river under the shade trees can’t be beat,” said artist Katie Graham. “I really enjoy meeting all the people who travel from afar to attend, and catching up with local friends,” she said. “We are so lucky to have the island here in Marshall to host events such as Art on the Island,” said Erich Hubner, the Madison County Arts Council program director. 

Blannahassett Island is the home of Marshall High Studios, located in the renovated 1925 building that formerly housed Marshall High School. The studios house a wide variety of working artist studios. 

The festival will take place on the grounds of the island, with plenty of space for artist’s booths, playground joy, and picnic fun. All of the participating artists are MCAC members and food is provided by Madison County vendors. A beer garden will be sponsored by the Downtown Marshall Association. There will be food and special activities on Main Street in downtown Marshall the day of the festival, and WART-FM, Marshall’s community radio, will broadcast special programming.