Mattie Kelly Arts Festival 2016

A warm and sunny Halloween weekend proved to be quite a treat for the 21st Annual Mattie Kelly Arts Festival in Destin. Festival goers numbering 6,000 celebrated fine art, culinary arts and musical arts at the Mattie Kelly Cultural Arts Village in a laid-back, family-friendly atmosphere.

Destin’s premier arts festival featured 27 artists representing 13 different mediums and awarded $10,000 in cash prizes. White tents dotted the lawn at the Cultural Arts Village while musicians took the stage to provide the background music. The Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation created a welcoming vibe for artists ranging from a second-generation Florida Highwayman painter, to metal sculptors, plein air painters, glass artists and jewelry makers alike.

Children split their time between the playground and the Kid’s ArtStop, painting pictures and pumpkins, getting their faces painted, and requesting balloons shaped like giraffes and water guns from the stilt walker. Cuisine on the Green featured an impressive row of food trucks and tents, sustaining the crowd with burgers, barbecue, fish tacos, adult beverages and hands down the most refreshing cup of lemonade known to man. The 22nd Annual Mattie Kelly Arts Festival will be held October 28-29, 2017. For more information, please visit www.mattiekellyartsfoundation.org.