Published: August 30, 2008 06:51 pm      

Pottery and Kids fests highlight next weekend

Irvine-McDowell Park will be the place to be next weekend for pottery lovers and kids looking for free and fun activities.

Beginning Friday, the city of Richmond will be hosting its fifth annual Pottery Festival at the Lancaster Avenue park.

The festival will feature a dozen potters from across the state of Kentucky, including the Cornelison Family of Bybee Pottery, Bill Whitt of Flatwoods Pottery, John and Sue Martin of Martin Studio, Krystal Kokinda of Alley Cat Pottery, Matthew Trimble of Pots By Me, Bill Lenox, David Enge of Tater Knob Pottery, Hands on Pottery, Joanna Thompson, J. Wright Pottery, Anne Porter Elliot and Eastern Kentucky University pottery students.

The potters will be on hand to demonstrate their craft and sell their wares to the public.

“When we began this five years ago we were really worried about if we would have enough potters to actually call it a pottery festival,” said Lori Murphy, executive director of the Richmond Tourism Department. “Now, we have the most potters that we’ve ever had. I think we have every person who makes pottery in Madison County at the festival. We’re starting to get potters from across Kentucky. We have one guy coming in from Texas.”

The Richmond Pottery Festival will kick off with a concert at 7 p.m. Friday that will feature Nashville country artist J. D. Shelburne, the Richmond Barber Shop Chorus and The Sensations.

The festival will continue from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday with food vendors, pottery demonstrations and more than 50 arts and crafts booths.

“There’s all kinds of different things,” Murphy said. “There’s quilters, woodworkers, jewelry. There’s somebody who has scented stones. There’s photographers and everything you can imagine.”

In conjunction with the pottery festival, the Richmond Parks and Recreation Department will host its eighth annual Kids Fest from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Irvine-McDowell Park.

“Kids Fest is such a wonderful event because both the kids and their family have a great experience,” said Erin Moore, assistant director of the Richmond Parks and Recreation Department. “There are activities for kids of all ages and everyone has a great time.”

“Throughout both days there will probably be between 8,000 to 10,000 people who attend Kids Fest,” she said.

Little Lamb’s Playhouse and New Heights will provide inflatable play equipment and other activities including a slide, an obstacle course, a euro bungee, a bouncy house and a rock climbing wall, to entertain children.

A petting zoo provided by Owsley Fork Farm will be located behind the gazebo and will have $3 pony rides.

Various civic and student organizations also have volunteered to run the games with prizes, face painting and balloons.

Kids Fest also will include stage entertainment Saturday and Sunday.

Volunteers for Kids Fest still are needed for several shifts, said Moore, who added that local businesses and organizations also are encouraged to be a part of the event to set up community booths and provide activities for kids.

The Knights of Columbus also will sponsor an antique car show in downtown Richmond from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. A shuttle bus will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to take attendees from the car show to the park.

Tours of the Irvinton House Museum also will be free to those interested throughout the festival.

As an added attraction, a variety of quilts will be on display in the museum during festival hours and during regular business hours until Sept. 21.

The festival will wrap up from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday with more pottery demonstrations, sales and activities for the entire family.

For details about the Richmond Pottery Festival, call the Richmond Tourism and Visitor Center at 626-8474 or e-mail tourism@richmond.ky.us.

For details about Kids Fest, call Richmond Parks and Recreation at 623-8753.



Bryan Marshall can be reached at bmarshall@richmondregister.com or 624-6691.