ABOUT

About the Brookings Summer Arts Festival

Beautiful Pioneer Park in Brookings, South Dakota is home to South Dakota’s premier juried art festival. Over 200 artists from across the nation, representing 15 disciplines of art, grace Pioneer Park with original skilled and handcrafted works of art. Thirty eight gourmet and ethnic food booths satisfy every appetite. The Edibles and Naturals area has 28 artisans who produce gourmet packaged cottage foods and natural skin products. Historic and antique booths celebrate South Dakota’s heritage. A lively children’s area in the center of the park provides fun, educational activities. In addition to the great works of art, the festival has become known for the entertainers performing on the park's historic Band Shell and on side stages throughout the park.

Our History

The Brookings Summer Arts Festival is a testimony to what a good idea and a lot of hard work can do. Each year a group of local volunteers plan an arts festival that surpasses the year before. Festival patrons are treated to a show that brings a wide assortment of art, food and entertainment to Pioneer Park.

The stage was set in 1972 when a small group of people gathered over a cup of coffee and planned an all-city event. Events took place all over town and kicked off July 15, 1972 with a parade and opening ceremony. Fifteen craft and art booths were at Pioneer Park, while rock, antique, and coin shows were held elsewhere.  Bus tours went to the Brookings County Historical Museum in Volga. A 4-H horse show, a grouping of band concerts and evening dances were also enjoyed by those who attended the first Brookings Summer Arts Festival.

Nearly five decades later, the Festival now transforms Pioneer Park into an outdoor art gallery that showcases the wares of the best regional artists and skilled craft vendors. Although we have continued to grow and evolve since our beginnings, the committee still meets over cups of coffee to plan the annual festival and prove what a little hard work from a few dedicated volunteers can achieve.

Awards

The BSAF Awards Committee selects three artists annually to honor. Two receive an Award of Excellence and one the Media Award. At the start of each year’s festival, the committee gathers together to canvas the festival vendors to select these recipients.

The Awards Committee bestows two Award of Excellence ribbons to two artisans who show outstanding skill in his or her chosen media. These awards are based on overall quality of the artist’s work, and not on a particular piece. Criteria to judge work is based on originality, craftsmanship and skillful use of materials. The winners must create all of their work.

The third award and ribbon is the Media Award. The Awards Committee chooses one piece of work from an artist the group feels best represents the spirit of the festival. The committee searches for a piece that is an original or “one-of-a-kind”.

The selected artist will be asked for permission to use the artwork to create the next year’s BSAF logo. The Awards, Publicity, and Tee Shirt Committees create a flat art logo to be used on promotional materials such as tee-shirts, flags and banners. The artwork will also be on posters, programs, and newspaper and TV advertising distributed in a four state area.

2022 Award Winners

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Doug Hicks, Faces in Wood

Media Award Winner

Doug Hicks creates hand-carved, original bark carvings using only hand tools. Some his subjects include wizards, Native Americans, castles, Vikings, hidden spirits, wood spirits, and much more. Doug Hicks also makes walking sticks and canes, and a fairly new item has been unique fire pit pokers, handmade from various woods and rebar. Stop by Faces in Wood at booth #220 during the Renaissance Festival and you can watch work in progress demos of his art and ask questions to find out more about woodcarving. You can also find more information and examples of his work on Faces in Wood on Facebook

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Travis Hinton, Travis Hinton Pottery

Award of Excellence

Travis is at home in the studio. He is constantly creating, drawing, sculpting and envisioning new works. The artist creates both functional and sculptural works, at times melding the two.

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Charlene Norvil & Diane Doren, Norenwood

Award of Excellence

Charlene Norvil and Diane Doren have combined their talents and their names to create a business called Norenwood and wood is what they do. They are intarsia artists, which is different pieces, types and colors of wood, all shaped to fit together like a puzzle and made into wall hangings or sculptures mounted on driftwood.

Our Committee

Coming from all walks of life, the committee members of the Brookings Summer Arts Festival all have one thing in common: the desire to create the finest arts festival in the state of South Dakota. Each year, the thirty to forty members come together to plan and design a weekend of art, food, and entertainment for the nearly seventy-five thousand people who attend the annual event each year.

Join the committee

The Brookings Summer Arts Festival started with a group of citizens with an idea to put on an art festival and we are now the largest two-day arts festival in South Dakota.  It takes a diverse group of volunteers to put the festival together and we could use your help. Members coordinate art and food booths, entertainment, children’s and antiques areas, parking, security, and so much more!

Please contact us at generalinfo@bsaf.com or (605) 692-2787 with any questions and for meeting times.

Festival Committees

Officers

Festival Chair | Philip Keller

Festival Co-Chair | Cynthia Strande-Butler

Secretary | Barb Johnson

Treasurer | Jean Stoebner

Board of Directors

Shari Avery

Dave Huebner

Trayce Meyer

Dan Kemp

Josilyn Ulvestad

Antiques Booths

Dan Kemp, Chair
Michele Kemp

Art Booths

Charlotte Meyer, Chair
Sheri Bosch
Michele Kemp
Jean Stoebner

Awards

Cynthia Strande, Chair
Brittney Green
Barb Johnson
Katie Reynolds

Banner

Shari Avery, Chair

Visit Brookings Representative

Bridgit Burghardt

Children's Activities

Barb Johnson, Chair

Edibles & Naturals

Josilyn Ulvestad, Chair
Brian Ulvestad

Entertainment

Trayce Meyer, Chair
Charlotte Meyer
Katie Reynolds

Food Booths

Philip Keller, Chair
Jason Bain
Pat Stapleton

Hospitality

Kim Dokken-Nelson, Chair
Darlene Dokken, Co-Chair
Sheri Bosch
Dan Kemp
Michele Kemp
Jean Stoebner
Katie Reynolds

Information Booths

Shari Avery, Chair
Sheri Bosch
Brittney Green
Barb Johnson
Jean Stoebner
Cynthia Strande

Living History

Dave Huebner, Chair

Park Cleanup

Jean Stoebner, Chair

Parking

Dave Huebner, Chair
Matt Lagerstrom

Park Staking

Trayce Meyer, Chair
Jason Bain
Brittney Green
Philip Keller
Matt Lagerstrom
Cindy Strande

Police Department Representative

Josh Schneider

Port-a-Potty

Ellen Herrboldt, Chair

Program

Charlotte Meyer, Chair
Dan Kemp
Michele Kemp
Sheri Bosch

Publicity

Shari Avery, Chair

Safety & Security

Keven Perry

Shuttle Bus

Ellen Herrboldt, Chair

Tee Shirt

Brittney Green, Chair
Cynthia Strande

Web Page

Erin Keller, Chair
Dan Kemp
Charlotte Meyer
Shari Avery

 

Publicity

BSAF advertises in the regional four state area through radio, television, and print mediums.

Advertising agents may contact BSAF at publicity@bsaf.com