Artists to be Showcased in Annual Arts Fest

Calling all artists and art lovers from Riverdale Park, Hyattsville and beyond.

Riverdale Park will hold its fourth annual ArtsFest this May and will feature dozens of artists and craftsman from the area. The event is hosted by the Riverdale Park Arts Council.

Among the artists expected to showcase their work are town residents Gerald King, a renowned realism painter, Tina Van Pelt, popular jewelry craftsman, and Robert Kraft, award-winning waterfowl woodcarver.

Beyond all the art, the festival will feature local musicians including Wayne Brown and 2nd Conspiracy, a rock n' roll band, Brûlée, a jazz pop group, and La Tradicion Grupo, a Mexican rhythm band.

Members of the Archie Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation will be also be there to perform and workshop, and local theater group, Active Cultures, is also set to perform Sunday afternoon.

The local Elephant Art Gallery at Town Center, which supports the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Thailand’s Lampang Province, will be open to visitors. Dr. Delvin Fanning, emeritus professor of the University of Maryland’s Soil Science Department—better known as “the Dean of Dirt”—will present his popular soil exhibition and talk.

ArtsFest will be on May 1 and will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The arts council is still looking for more artists to feature. Contact Emily Fanning, president of the Riverdale Park Arts Council, reached at 301-864-5561 or OurDollMom@aol.com.