By Joyce Kryszak
Lockport, NY – One of the region's most popular yearly events is happening this weekend in Lockport. It's the 32nd annual "100 American Craftsmen Festival" at the Kenan Center. The juried craft show and sale attracts artists from all over the country and visitors from throughout Western New York. And that's good news for the little known, community art center that has some big plans for the future.
It was a quiet morning at the rose brick house on Locust Street. A few people -- mostly volunteers and staff -- come and go. But it will be very busy at the Kenan Center by tonight (Friday). That's when about 100 artists -- and hundreds of their biggest fans -- arrive for the annual craft show. And that's good news for the Kenan Center -- a place Marketing Director Elaine Harrigan calls a well kept secret.
"Even though we've been here for thirty plus years, it's still an unknown item," said Harrigan. "There are a lot of people who have grown up in Western New York, and even in the Lockport area, who don't even know this is here, or what it does. There are people who are familiar with it only from One Hundred Craftsmen."
Harrigan says they take advantage of the festival's popularity -- inviting guests into the turn of the century victorian house, to show them around and to acquaint them with all that's new at the Kenan Center. There are exhibits several time a year, like the current All High Photo show. But she says they're working to expand on the mission outlined by the home's original owner, businessman and philanthropist William Rand Kenan. Harrigan says Arts, Education, and Recreation are more than just a tag line on the letterhead.
"He supported all those areas while he was alive, and that's why we're here, is that we keep his mission alive -- and it's a big one." said Harrigan. "Under those three headings we've got an awful lot of ground we have to cover."
The craft festival itself has been a good starting point. You won't find any tacky crocheted plant hangers here. This crafts show is well known for excellence. Susan Soleil is a bookbinder who has worked on restoring priceless works of literature from all over the world. She says only the best are invited to apply.
"And they have a very rigorous jurying process, through which they choose the 100 best," said Soleil. "I do a number of shows, all over the East Coast, and I would rank this show among the top shows that I have seen, because of the attention to detail."
Attention to details like honoring the finest artists among the ranks. Marvin Bjurlin is a ceramics artist, who has earned the Kenan Center's distinction of "Master Craftsmen." He took part in the festival during the first thirteen years of it's history. And he says he's recently returned because the festival recognizes the value of honoring traditions, while encouraging artists to evolve in their work.
"There's so much variety and still, I can look at Syung Dynasty folk pottery, and have a real feeling of connection," said Bjurlin. "Like my fingers are doing the same kind of thing that were done by that folk potter in rural China - hundreds of years ago."
And it is that balance -- between tradition and creating tradition anew -- that the Kenan Center is striving for in its programming.
Marketing Director Elaine Harrigan takes us inside the Kenan Center's Taylor theatre, housed in the old stable on the grounds. There's also a preschool in an old carriage house, and lavish gardens where weddings and receptions are often held. Harrigan says the goal is to use the Center's many resources to better serve an even broader community. And she says local artists are one of their most valuable resources.
"We have just a huge roster of artists that are local who work with us, and also artists who are regional, who come in for their shows, and especially for One Hundred American Craftsmen this weekend, who are just so committed to the Kenan Center," said Harrigan. "We have that kind of working relationship where we can bring them here, then gets the students here, and kind of connect that relationship."
And as the main fundraiser of the year, Harrigan says One Hundred American Craftsmen is also vital to the Center's future fiscal viability. So, if you're looking for something unique, have a special book that needs mending -- or would maybe just like to get acquainted the Kenan Center, why not take a ride out. That's Friday night through Sunday at the Kenan Center in Lockport.