Local Volunteers, Members Center of Nescatunga Arts Festival Success Since 1969
- News About the Nescatunga Arts Festival
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
ALVA, Okla. -- For the 55th year, Nescatunga Arts and Humanities Council, Inc., members are bringing the Nescatunga Arts Festival to the people of Alva, northwest Oklahoma and the area on Friday, June 5, from 5-8 p.m. and Saturday, June 6, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Alva Recreation Complex, 1887 Goldbug Blvd., in Alva, Oklahoma. Booths and fun activities will be at the Pete and Ruth Leslie Fieldhouse. More than 40 fine artists/crafters will set up booths to show and sell their creations.
What began in 1969 by two amateur artists, Hazel Dickson and Berenice Hinton, has continued for 55 years. The festival was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID.
The festival’s roots began on Alva’s downtown square and with the Runnymede. The Nescatunga Arts and Humanities Council was born in 1971 and incorporated in October 1972. A group of about 30 enthusiastic people at that time chose to use the name Nescatunga, an Osage Indian word meaning Salt Fork, since Alva is located on the Salt Fork River.
With year-long planning taking place for each festival, the ever-evolving weather conditions and the requests of vendors registering and paying to attend, the members of the had to consider changing its traditional format. After rain threatened the first event back after COVID in June 2022, the festival moved inside, and has remained at indoor locations since. The festival has grown each year since moving indoors, and vendors have communicated their appreciation of the change to help keep their artwork and monetary investments safe while bringing their talents to this area.
Festival preparation takes several hours, days, weeks and months by a handful of core volunteers who pay their monetary dues of $25 each. Not only does planning take place for the festival but also for First Friday art exhibits, workshops and fundraisers. Anyone who would like to help is always welcome to become a member and attend meetings.
Additional volunteers are always needed for the arts festival in the form of working during the event and providing the food goodies at the traditional Gourmet Food Booth fundraising table each year. The festival wouldn’t happen without these additional people willing to give of themselves.
Stipends Available for Student Group Helpers at Festival
Monetary stipends are available again this year for any student organizations interested in helping at this year’s festival. The form to register for days and times to help is at https://bit.ly/Nescatunga-Volunteers26. To receive this stipend, student groups must contain at least two adults and five students. The volunteers do not have to come at the same time, but at least one adult sponsor should be working with the students present. The group members must check in to indicate they are there to help represent their registered group. Only one stipend is available per student organization.
Gourmet Food Booth Needs Local Bakers’ Goodies
The Gourmet Food Booth that helps the Council raise funds for scholarships, workshops and the festival, will be open on both Friday and Saturday this year. The Nescatunga group isn’t able to have this booth without volunteer bakers and snack makers to provide their signature goodies, so everyone is greatly appreciated for their donations.
Bakers donating food item(s) are asked to provide a card including their name, contact information, the kind of item they are donating, and information about ingredients that could be potential allergens so this information can be displayed with the food item on the table.
Anyone who is willing to bring goodies is asked to contact the Council via a form at https://bit.ly/Gourmet-Food-Booth26 or Penner at 580-748-1905. Donated goodies should be delivered to the Alva Rec Center’s west entrance by 4 p.m. on Friday of the festival and 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Festival Sponsorships Available
The Nescatunga Council has opened up Sponsorship Levels to help fund this year’s annual festival. Sponsorship packages from $50 to $1,000+ are available with varying levels of incentives. Sponsorships could include donating to help where the Council needs it, or names could be displayed showing a sponsor has provided funds for the Best of Show Award in the fine arts category, or sponsoring the entertainment provided each day, children’s activities, advertising for the festival and more. Sponsors' names will be prominently displayed at the festival and through other public channels. If interested, please contact Penner at 580-748-1905. More information is available at www.nescatunga.org/festival-sponsorships. Donations are tax deductible.
Council Membership Information
One-year membership fees are still only $25. The Council is also providing incentives to be a member by providing four $5 discounts a year to workshops and events sponsored by the Council, plus $5 off a Nescatunga Arts Festival booth space. Upon payment, a membership card containing four numbers that can be checked off when attending a Nescatunga workshop, and one spot to check off for a festival booth space, will be issued, ultimately returning the $25 membership fee if all five spaces are used.
Checks may be mailed to P.O. Box 152, Alva, OK 73717, or payments may be made via Nescatunga’s PayPal account at https://paypal.me/NescatungaArts or by searching for the email NescatungaArts@yahoo.com within the service. Memberships may also be purchased at any workshop or event that the Council sponsors.
Any questions may be directed to Penner or emailed to NescatungaArts@yahoo.com.
Additional information about the Nescatunga Arts and Humanities Council and the festival can be found at www.nescatunga.org.
The Nescatunga Arts Festival is sponsored by the Nescatunga Arts and Humanities Council, Inc., in cooperation with the Alva Chamber of Commerce, the City of Alva Tourism Committee, the City of Alva and the Alva Recreation Complex.
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