BC3 art, music festival not dampened by rain
BUTLER TWP — The fresh white tents were set up, chairs were lined neatly in rows and all looked ready for a perfect day.
But no one was wandering through the outdoor venue.
As the clouds dumped buckets of rain on Butler Saturday morning, the Butler County Community College Music and Arts Festival was forced indoors.
"It was quite an interesting day for us," said Susan Changnon, director of communication at BC3.
"We decided early in the morning to move it inside," she said.
As the rain gradually cleared up, more people filtered onto the main campus to check out the events.
Changnon guessed the total number of attendees at about 1,500.
"We had counts of over 100 at single events," she said.
Festivalgoer Kathy Smith of Butler was surprised to see the variety of performers and artists.
"I didn't expect to find all this art," she said. "I thought it would be all kid stuff."
Smith was attending the festival with her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
But while there were plenty of children's activities available, like a ventriloquist, children's play and face painting, the bulk of the artists were meant for all ages.
"This was really an event for the community," Changnon said.
Many of the performers had been scheduled for the Outdoor Forum, but they were moved into the Convocation Center because of the rain, along with the vendors.
As a result, festivalgoers got to shop to the sounds of music, like pop rock group Street Level or classic rock band 16 Eyes.
"We had some real great local entertainment," Changnon said.
A small section of folding chairs was set up in front of the stage, so shoppers could easily take a break and enjoy performances by the musical sign language group The Children of the World.
"The Children of the World were excellent," said Smith, who is a 2004 graduate of BC3. "It's nice to see such a variety."
The vendors in the Convocation Center definitely exemplified variety.
Artisans from all over the county had their wares on display. Items ranged from homemade soaps to beaded jewelry to ceramics.
Oil painter Mark Grossi painted his scenic pictures on the spot, while French and Indian War painter John Buxton set up his prints beside the Native American artifacts booth.Most unique of all, perhaps, was Helen McGuire's edible creations: wine-flavored jellies, which visitors could sample.McGuire, 53, started her business, Pennsylvania Wine Jellies, three years ago after stumbling across a recipe for wine jelly."I was just working in the kitchen, cooking with friends," she said. "The rest is pretty much history."When some acquaintances told her how popular wine jellies were in Canada, the McMurray resident decided to do some research of her own."I started sampling different wines," she said. "You get the feel for the taste of wine after awhile."McGuire said sampling new wines is where she finds inspiration for new jelly flavors, like her most recent one, blackberry merlot.Smith said she was surprised the festival was still under way."I thought it would be canceled," she said.But overall, Changnon felt the festival was a success."I was really impressed with the level of arts and entertainment, and really impressed with the BC3 staff," she said. "It was a real team effort and I'm very pleased with it."The Music and Arts Festival was presented this year as part of BC3's 40th anniversary celebration.
