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7 things to know if you're going to Yorkfest


If you go

What: Yorkfest

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30

Where: Downtown York, surrounding the Colonial Court House Complex and including portions of the York County Heritage Rail Trail – Philadelphia Street to Princess Street, Market Street between Codorus Creek and Beaver Street, and the first block of North Pershing Avenue.

Cost: Free

Where to park: Parking garages at 41 E. Market St., 25 W. Philadelphia St. and 15 W. King St. are free on weekends. Street parking, with the exception of the retail zone, is also free. Additional free parking will be available in the lots on the corner of Beaver and Princess streets.

Street closures: Pershing Avenue will close from 11:15 a.m. Friday through the remainder of the festival. Market Street will close from Penn to Beaver streets at 8 a.m. Saturday and from Newberry to Beaver streets at 9 a.m. Sunday.

Note: No dogs will be permitted in the event area.

More information: Visit yorkcity.org/yorkfest , or email events@yorkcity.org .

Artwork, food trucks, spoken word artists, live music, children's activities and close to 20,000 people will make their way downtown for York City's annual Yorkfest this weekend.

The fine arts festival will feature works by just under 100 artists from states including California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Guests can expect to see artwork ranging from paintings, photography, sculptures, clay, mixed media, fiber and more.

If you go, here are some festival highlights to check out.

Featured artist

You can't do Yorkfest without paying a visit to the featured artist. This year, it's York potter M. Kim Heindel-Toner . You might recognize her from her potter school, studio and gallery — Tarra Opera Pottery — on East Market Street in York or from her 18 years of wheel-throwing at her Yorkfest booth.

Instead of doing pottery demonstrations this year, Heindel-Toner said she'll focus her attention on meeting new people and selling her hand-made and wheel-thrown pottery, which includes bowls, fish plates, statues and more.

She'll also unveil her new decorative porcelain pots.

"They are complex and are my interpretation of watercolor painting," she said.

More artists to see

If you can't make it to every artist booth, organizer Mary Yeaple said make sure you make time for these.

Richard Aldorasi, an artist who makes silk scarves, is one of the more popular artists at the festival, Yeaple said. Guests can choose their own color and pour in their own dye so each design will be unique.

Georgie LeHoop is another artist to see. He paints on canvas, old cymbals, drums and records using drum sticks as his paint brush.

If you're looking for a great gift, Everyday Bow Ties is also a great stop, Yeaple said. The West African vendor was new to the festival last year and won an award from the jury panel. Owner Geraldo De-Souza only makes 30 bow ties in each pattern, so shoppers can expect to see new designs this year.

New food to try

New food vendors this year include Archer's Café , a gluten-free food truck, and Wayward Waffle, Yeaple said. Wayward Waffle offers five varieties of waffles, including the Peanut Bubble-n-Fluff, a waffle made with organic honey-roasted peanut butter and topped with marshmallow fluff, and the Tater Waffle, a Waffle including smashed red-skin potatoes, caramelized onions, sautéed garlic and fresh herbs.

For children

Families will find an expanded hands-on art activity area for children at the Gates & Plough Tavern Garden this year, where they'll be introduced to select "Master Artists." After learning about some of their famous works, children can create their own art project in the same style. Projects rotate every 90 minutes throughout the day Saturday and Sunday. Then, families can take home a free gift — either a gift certificate to Prime Art Supply or a book about discovering great artists — so they can continue the fun at home.

Also fun for your little ones is the Musical Petting Zoo, where children can test out instruments from other countries such as the afuche kabasa, djembe, bodhran, maracas, ukulele, steel drum, harps and more, Yeaple said. The petting zoo runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

More fun activities include caricatures along the Rail Trail Saturday and Sunday afternoons and York's Historic Codorus Creek Boat Parade launch at 2 p.m. Saturday.

For poetry lovers

Performance poetry, dramatic poetry, page poetry and even some spoken word will fill the Yorkfest Poetry Spoken Here tent on the corner of Market Street and North Pershing Avenue both days of the festival. Groups like Knight Writers and the Martin Library Poets as well as Poets Laureate, the Chancellor of the National Poetry Society and the past president of the Pennsylvania Poetry Society have already signed up, but there are still a few time lots open for more poets to participate.

For music fans

End your Saturday evening with Yorkfest's free Community Jazz Concert from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center , 50 N. George St. York jazz drummer Jeff Stabley and Friends will open for Baltimore's Eric Marner and Brave New World.

Additional performances will be held from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, featuring Celtic, country, folk, classical, harp, soul and more styles.

Also happening in York

• The sixth annual Cigar Box Guitar Festival returns to the York Emporium Saturday, just two blocks west of Yorkfest, with 14 blues and rock bands on two stages. The free event will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• The York Young Professionals Foot Rally steps off at 1 p.m. Saturday from CoWork155. Teams of four or five will navigate the city, solve clues and complete tasks in a city-wide scavenger hunt designed to discover the hidden gems of York. If you see a group of lost adults wandering the streets, give them a hand and maybe you can point them toward their next clue.

• Pedi Cabs , a new human-powered taxi service, will offer free transportation to and from these downtown events.