My friend Leslie wanted to go and see Art in the Park at Julia Davis Park here in Boise, Idaho, and invited me along for the ride. I thought about taking my two sidekicks, Loki and Katie, for a walk in the park, but Leslie said that the newspaper did not recommend people to bring their dogs to the park because of the crowds. So, with Loki's inclination to pee on things he's not supposed to and Katie not allowing me to stop to look at things, I reluctantly left my furry friends in the yard and went with Leslie to Art in the Park.
Art in the Park is an annual event in Boise that is held in Julia Davis Park every September and is sponsored by the Boise Art Museum (BAM). Artists from all over the USA and Canada are invited to show and sell their wares in an outdoor fair atmosphere complete with canopies, live music and other entertainment, and a food court.
Because parking and traffic in downtown Boise can be hellacious during Art in the Park weekend, Leslie and I went to the Boise Towne Square Mall and took the free shuttle bus that is available to Art in the Park patrons. The busses run very frequently and drop you off right at the park.
When Leslie and I got to the park and started to walk around, we noticed that many people ignored the "keep your dogs at home" part of the newspaper article and brought their pooches for a day at the park. I said to Leslie that I was glad I left Loki and Katie at home because I would have been peeling their noses from many other dogs' butts or breaking up fights.
Leslie and I enjoyed seeing most of the artists' wares and artwork. Our favorite tents were from a couple who did work on scratch boards. The boards are covered with black ink and are scratched with special knives to reveal the white board underneath. Then, they take water colors and color in the animals that they have drawn on the boards. The vivid watercolors on the black backgrounds made the works pop with a 3-D effect that I loved. Leslie took the artist's business card so that she could tell her daughter that she wanted a print of Eastern Bluebirds, which Leslie collects. We also loved some of the art done with recycled auto parts and cans.
Unfortunately, a lot of the works were very expensive and out of our budgets. Most of the artists don't like it if you take photos of their work because of theft or plagiarism, so ask the artists if it's okay to photograph the works. But it was really nice walking through the park, looking at most of the works and spending time with each other.