Weekend packed with art shows

First Friday may be a few weeks away, but this weekend offers two new (and free) community art events that might make one think June 1 has already arrived.

Bilderbach Art Festival

The Bilderbach Art Plaza in downtown Cape Girardeau will be hosting its first art festival, with 60 vendor booths, plate lunches from Dockside, children's games and a variety of art. Co-organizer Marti Wingo of Mozaic Art Studio said she is hoping to make this a yearly event.

"We are excited about exposing people of the area to a variety of arts and crafts with a distinctly Cape Girardeau flavor," Wingo said. "Many spring shows like this are hard to plan because of weather issues, but that's the advantage we have with Bilderbach being a large, indoor art venue. We hope we can build off whatever success this has this year and offer even more next year."

Local artist and photographer Aaron Horrell will not only be showing his work, but also his newest creation -- The Great Bilderbach Golf Ball Roll.

"As many people know, the floor inside Bilderbach is severely sloped toward the Mississippi River. This is a story in itself because the building was built before the floodwall, with the floor sloped to combat river flooding," Horrell said. "So we'll just see how sloped it is with this. The game is basically meant to keep the children in attendance entertained, but anyone can play. However, adults won't qualify for the toy prizes."

The festival is free to enter, and will go from 5 to 9 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Plein Air Art Show

Like art by Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir? Then you'll want to get to the historic Glenn House for its Plein Air Art Show. Local artist Craig Thomas will help host the event, which will include a juried art contest, artwork for sale, people in Victorian-era garb and hand-held fans turned works of art. But the focus will be on the plein air painting style, which is a French term meaning to paint outside and receive inspiration directly from the landscape itself. The fleeting effects of light and shadow as they change and the movement of clouds and sky are all challenging aspects that the artist deals with in creating a successful plein air work of art. Glenn House board member Bonnie Chaudior said this type of painting is beautiful to behold.

"I got the idea when I went on the art walk they have in Ste. Genevieve, and Craig was doing a plein air event there. After talking to him and seeing some of the great work he has done within that genre, I knew I had to pitch this to our board," Chaudior said. "We'll have so much art being made here, and people will get to watch as it is created. And if it's well-received, we'll do it again next year."

The event is free and open all weekend from 1 to 4 p.m. May 18 to 20. Artists can sign up on site to participate in plein air painting and the art contest.

jsamons@semissourian.com

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5 N. Main Street, Cape Girardeau, MO

325 S. Spanish Street, Cape Girardeau, MO