‘The show supports us’: Artists, visitors turn out for day two of Atlanta Dogwood Festival

ATLANTA — Tents lined Piedmont Park on Saturday, each offering something different for visitors at the Atlanta Dogwood Festival.

Among the artists was Gwendolyn Redfern, a watercolor artist from Raleigh, North Carolina, who has been coming to the festival for six years.

“Atlanta is a beautiful place to be and like I said, it’s a beautiful show,” Redfern said. “A lot of my copartners and artist friends are here and they come for one reason, the money. It’s a good show and we like to support that and the show supports us.”

While Redfern is a returning artist, for Jef Raasch, the festival was a brand-new experience. He traveled from Milwaukee to showcase his work for the first time.

“The crowds are great, the weather has been perfect and it’s just been really fun to share my work with the public,” Raasch said.

His work quickly made an impression—Raasch took home first place in clay sculpting at this year’s festival.

“My work is really nature inspired and it’s all about the different textures and such,” Raasch said. “So it’s just really fun to walk up next to one of my pieces and really look at them closely.”

From jewelry and oil paintings to needle-felted creations and photography, the festival offered something for nearly everyone.

“I enjoy seeing all of the items, all of the merchandise that these people crafted themselves and then we come down here and have the chance to buy them, but it’s beautiful,” attendee Carol Hicklen said.

Hicklen and her friends said this was their second year attending the festival.

Not everyone left with artwork, though. 

“Food… funnel cake,” Veronica Boddie said.

But for others, the experience went beyond what they could purchase.

“It brings life to the city,” Aliscia Hicklen said. “I think it brings art and beauty to the city and I just love it because you come down here and that’s all you see and that’s what Atlanta represents.”

The festival goes until Sunday at 6 p.m.