Last Updated on May 28, 2023, 8:10 AM | Published: May 28, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — Memorial Day Weekend in Oklahoma City means it’s officially time for the Paseo Arts Festival, one of the most anticipated events of the year.
The 46th annual Paseo Arts Festival began Saturday, May 27th, and continues throughout the holiday weekend Sunday, May 28th 10:00 am to 8:00 pm with music until 10:00 pm and Monday, May 29th, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm with music until 10:00 pm. This event is a free celebration of art, music, and community in the heart of the historic Paseo Arts District, taking place every year on Memorial Day weekend.
The event kicked off Saturday morning while the hot summer sun peaked out from between cloudy Spring skies. As the weather warmed up through the day, crowds began to multiply, with guests of all ages and backgrounds looking to enrich themselves with art on a holiday weekend.
One of the bigger concerns for any festival is parking availability. Parking is available throughout the historic neighborhood for the Paseo Arts Festival, but there is also an option to park at 36th and Walker and take a shuttle to the festival.
Retired professor, artist, and volunteer Kari Boyce manned the information tent, handing out a guide to the festival with a schedule of performers, a list of artists, and a map with locations of food trucks, information booths, restrooms, beverages, festival merchandise, and more, creating a stress-free experience.
Boyce kept busy while the crowds ramped up through Saturday. It’s her second year volunteering, and she said she has especially enjoyed the variety of artists across different mediums this year as well as the presence of artists across the country. This year, there’s variety in all aspects, not just in the type of art, but also in the number of activities for people across age groups.
“We have free art activities for children and a diverse performer lineup of local talent across all generations and genres,” Paseo Arts Festival Marketing Coordinator Conner Albrightson said. “Our artists also showcase a wide range of styles and mediums for art enthusiasts and collectors of all ages.”
The Paseo Arts Festival has all of the features of other festivals, but there’s a quaintness and relaxation that permeates through the festival grounds, all with the backdrop of the colorful Paseo architecture.
Artists across mediums and locations
There’s no shortage of variety of art at the Paseo Arts Festival, featuring over 90 artists. Art mediums include ceramics, fiber art, glass art, jewelry, 2D mixed media, 3D mixed media, painting, photography, sculpture, and wood art.
Of the 90 artists, 29 are from Oklahoma, one of which is Joshua McDaniel (Brother Joshua). His style is similar to that of realism, painting mainly in oils, but branching out to other mediums.
“This is the first time I’ve been at the Paseo Arts Fest, and my experience this morning has been great,” Brother Joshua said.
Other artists come from out of state to show their art to eager Oklahomans. Paul Uhl has been a potter for over 42 years and has been a Paseo Arts Festival artist since 2014. He took a break for a bit during the pandemic, but now he’s returned and couldn’t be more excited to be back.
“I love coming up here,” Uhl said. “It’s just a neat little artsy area.”
Uhl described his work as “modern oriental southwest,” featuring multiple layers of glazes and underglazes, which creates a glossy finish atop nature scenes like New Mexico Aspen trees.
Not only can this be an opportunity for artists to get to know Oklahoma, but Marketing Coordinator Albrightson said it can be a destination for out-of-state attendees as well.
“We have people come from across the country that explore the Paseo and tell us this is their first time being here,” Albrightson said.
Food court and festival activities
No festival is complete without plenty of food options, which are more than covered by the 20 different food and drink vendors with options like Korean/Mexican fusion, ice cream, BBQ, tacos, funnel cakes, hot dogs and more.
There are also drink tents for guests over 21 with options of beer on tap and local wine as well as other drink options like lemonade, root beer, and more.
Although different food and drink options are scattered throughout the festival grounds, there is a dedicated food court located near 29th and Lee.
On the other side of the festival grounds, there is a Market Festival near the South Stage with all kinds of artisanal products for sale from vendors like soaps, lotions, salsas, jams, jewelry, infant clothes, handbags, and cowboy hats.
There is also a children’s art area free of cost at 29th and Dewey in front of the Contemporary Art Gallery, giving space for future artists to have fun creating art. There is also face painting offered for people of all ages, provided by artist Clarissa Sharp.
Each day of the festival from 12:30 pm to 6:00 pm, Paper Play Theatre will be putting on an art show for children, inviting children to tell stories with their own paper art inside Theatre Upon a StarDanceSawn at 3020 Paseo.
Performing arts
There’s a timeless appeal to the Paseo Arts Festival, and one aspect that’s become synonymous with its annual appearance is live, local performances. This year, the festival is home to 50 live performers, including dancers, spoken word artists, jazz, country, folk, hip-hop, and rock musicians.
Albrightston said he’s especially excited about musical artists from his own hometown of Weatherford, Oklahoma like Country rocker Tory Rae Music, who performed on Saturday, and R&B/Pop duo From A to Z, who performs on Sunday.
“I grew up as an artist in a small town, and know it can make be difficult to find a career or even an audience, so I think it’s inspiring to see these groups performing for one of the largest festivals in OKC,” Albrightson said.
Saturday started off strong with 20 different performances of varying types on both the South stage, located near Sauced on Paseo, and the North stage, located near Picasso Cafe.
While the artists and food vendors close down at 8:00 pm each day, music keeps going until 10:00 pm, giving guests lots of chances to soak in the musical artists of their choosing.
The Paseo Arts Festival’s impact
The Paseo Arts Festival is the largest fundraiser for the Paseo Arts Association, with proceeds coming from the official Paseo Arts Festival drink tent sales and festival merchandise sales, benefitting the nonprofit organization to fund arts programming and year-round events.
Not only is the festival impactful for the artists and the arts organizations, but it can be just as impactful for the guests, with some of the attendees coming to the festival for decades and others coming just for the first time.
“I’m very excited to see all of the new visitors who discover the district for the first time,” Albrightson said.
With a strong start on a beautiful Memorial Day Weekend, the Paseo Arts Festival is a perfect option for anyone wanting to spend their holiday weekend in the city, absorbing fine art and sending time with the Oklahoma arts community.
Zoe Travers has spent her career covering local musicians, artists, politicians, and everyday folks. She is also Oklahoma City’s most enthusiastic connoisseur of cheese danishes.
