Nescatunga Arts Festival June 6-7 at Alva Recreation Complex Offers Fun for All
- News About the Nescatunga Arts Festival
- May 30
- 6 min read
The artists and crafters have registered for booth space, the entertainment is lined up and the food trucks are ready to serve at the 54th Nescatunga Arts Festival June 6-7 at the Alva Recreation Complex at 1887 Goldbug Blvd. in Alva, Oklahoma. Booths and fun activities will be at the Pete and Ruth Leslie Fieldhouse.
The festival will kick off Friday, June 6, from 4-9 p.m. and continue on Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Artists and crafters will be open for sale, and live entertainment will be inside the building. A traditional opening ceremony at 9 a.m. on Saturday will kick off the final day of the festival.
Details about the artists and crafters booths, as well as who will be providing entertainment this year, and much more can be located on the Nescatunga Arts and Humanities Council website at www.nescatunga.org/blog.
As a fundraiser for the Festival, a new design has been created for T-shirts. Those interested in purchasing a shirt may do so online at https://bit.ly/Festival-Shirt. Shirts will be shipped directly to the address provided, but most likely will not arrive before the festival takes place.
Food Trucks at the Festival
To complement Alva’s local eateries, the festival is also offering several food truck options, serving up Bierox, Indian tacos, German potato salad, sandwiches, various Mexican food dishes, pulled pork, desserts, and more. They will be located outside the building on both days. Confirmed trucks are 505 Tacos, 10-4 Mexican from Laverne, All in the Family from Woodward, Catfish Bayou from the Oklahoma City area, Cuisine Cuisine, and Kids & Cops, plus other possible options.
Quilt Show
The annual Quilt Show, organized by the Peace by Piece Quilt Guild and other volunteers, will show off the talents of local quilters in a room on the north end of the building. Contact Helena Leysar at (970) 218-7289 if interested in displaying a quilt. New this year for the Quilt Show will be a People’s Choice award for the favorite quilt on display. The winner will receive a $50 prize, given by an anonymous donor. Voting will end at 2 p.m. on June 7.
Volunteer Helpers Needed
Several volunteer opportunities are available at this year’s festival. Please visit the SignUp Genius link at https://bit.ly/Nescatunga-Volunteers if interested in helping in some capacity (a link is also on the Nescatunga website). The festival committee would appreciate volunteers to help artists and crafters unload their items and help bring them into the Alva Rec Center, as well as help them take their merchandise back to their vehicles when the event is over. There are other volunteer opportunities to help with keeping the venue tidy, being “booth sitters” to allow the vendors a break throughout the day, and for just being helpful in many ways during the two-day event.
Bakers and Snack Makers Needed for Gourmet Food Booth
Volunteers to provide baked items or snacks for the annual Gourmet Food Booth are also needed. A Signup Genius form to fill out to let the committee know of items being donated is at https://bit.ly/Gourmet-Food-Booth (link also on Nescatunga website). All items should be delivered to the Pete and Ruth Leslie Fieldhouse Friday evening during the festival or by 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Mary Riegel, festival registration, and Jenny Sattler, festival T-shirts, have agreed to bake the annual Nescatunga Cookies to have at the table. Other non-refrigerated foods like cakes, cookies, pies, brownies, cinnamon rolls, bags of mixed snacks and more will be greatly appreciated.
Funds raised through the Gourmet Food Booth help to fund scholarships for local arts-related students each year, as well as help fund the arts festival, First Friday Art Walks at the Runnymede, workshops and other activities.
Questions may be directed to Heather Penner, Nescatunga president, at (580) 748-1905 or hlpenner91@gmail.com.
Poppin’ Around Alva ‘Shop Local’ Activity
Patrons of the Festival on Friday and Saturday will have the opportunity to “shop local” while also browsing for unique items from those with booths in the Pete and Ruth Leslie Fieldhouse.
The festival will offer up two $50 prizes of Alva Chamber of Commerce Chamber Bucks for those who participate in the fun shopping event, Poppin’ Around Alva, again this year.
Those who wish to participate may make purchases at any Alva business on June 6-7 only. Shoppers must deliver their receipts to the registration/information table just inside the west doors of the Fieldhouse by 2:30 p.m. on June 7. Each receipt turned in, including any receipts for lodging while in town, will qualify for one ticket in the drawing.
An announcement of the ticket winners will take place at approximately 3 p.m. on Saturday of the festival. Contest participants must be present to win to pick up their prize. Only one prize per person.
Fun Activities
Family fun activities include a nature art booth from the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge on Friday; $5 wristbands to enjoy inflatables from Nam and Pops on Friday from 4-8 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Emma Cline will be selling facing painting designs with Cake Face on both days.
People’s Choice for Booths Award
Patrons of the festival can participate in determining the winner of a new award for the booths of the fine artists or crafters. An anonymous donor has provided a $50 prize to be given to the booth of either one fine artist or crafter that voters deem as their favorite at this year’s festival. Voting will end for this award at 2 p.m. on June 7.
Sugar Show Canceled
Unfortunately, the hard decision to cancel the Sugar Show portion of the festival was made because of the lack of entries this year. Those who entered have been notified of the cancellation.
Coloring Pages Decorated by Elementary Students
Two coloring pages designed by Nescatunga vice president Kristy San Soucie and member Dianna Morgan were delivered to Washington and Longfellow elementary schools before the end of the school year for the students to put their creative touches on them. The pages can be seen displayed in various business windows around Alva, including 818 Diner, Gambino’s, Graceful Arts Gallery, McDonald’s, Merrifield’s Office Supply, Rialto, Starr Lumber, Top Knot and Venture Foods.
Nescatunga Arts Festival Workers
Leading the work for this year’s festival is a small group of dedicated volunteers who have been working behind the scenes for the last few years. Members helping include Heather Penner, president; Kristy San Soucie, vice president; April Ridgway, secretary; Erin Hopkins Davis, treasurer; Mary Riegel, festival registration; Roxie James, festival hospitality; Valarie Case and Angelia Case, marketing/publicity; Jenny Sattler, festival T-shirts; Alice Putnam, Paul Wanger, Elda Jones, Dianna Morgan and David Poindexter. Cara Bradt gathered the entertainment for this year’s festival, and Debbie Schwerdtfeger, Helena Leysar and Rhonda Stevenson organized the Quilt Show.
Membership Welcome
One-year Nescatunga Arts and Humanities Council memberships are $25 each and help support the various things the Council does during the year. Upon payment, a membership card is issued containing five circles at the bottom. Members will receive a $5 discount on four Nescatunga workshops during their year as members, as well as $5 off a Festival booth space, ultimately returning the $25 membership fee if utilizing all five spaces.
Membership fees and donations to the Council are tax-deductible.
Dues and donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 152, Alva, OK 73717 or paid online via Nescatunga’s PayPal account at https://paypal.me/NescatungaArts by searching for the email NescatungaArts@yahoo.com within the service.
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. Special thanks to the Alva Chamber of Commerce and Windy Ford for the sponsorship of advertising this year.
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