Art in the Park

Art in the Park, put on by the De Pere Area Chamber of Commerce, will return for its tenth year next Saturday, June 28, at Voyageur Park with a little bit of art for everybody to enjoy.

“It’ll be a bunch of regional artists — everything from painting to pottery to woodworking… All the way to edible art — cupcakes, we had a root beer vendor last year, honey and things like that,” said Chamber President David Vander Bloomen. “Art is, to me, anything somebody considers their own art and we didn’t want to put a limit on that, whether it’s painting or food.”

Now in it’s tenth year, Art in the Park has grown to be a well-loved community event.

“When this started, it was just supposed to be a neat day to get together and celebrate some art in the community,” Vander Bloomen said. “We had a small committee that started it 10 years ago and it’s now expanded into what we had last year, even with having to use the rain date, we had about 3,500 people come through. It went from something where we were just going to get a few artists together and celebrate some neat stuff to thousands of people coming to Art in the Park and enjoying the day… It’s turned into an event that people look forward to every year.”

And this year’s event promises to be the best one yet with expanded hours and offerings.

“After last year’s event, I went right to our Art in the Park committee and I said, ‘Let’s make this bigger and better for our tenth year,’” Vander Bloomen said. “I think we owe it to the community, we owe it to our artists and we owe it to everybody that’s been involved in this for 10 years now.”

This year’s event will see artists’ booths move off the paved pathway and onto the park’s expansive green space, expanded hours with the event running from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., increased musical offerings at the Nelson Family Pavillion and additional children’s programming.

“We really wanted to expand [Art in the Park] and make it more of a true destination for that day rather than just passing through on the trail,” Vander Bloomen said. “People can literally come spend the whole day here.”

Although Art in the Park will be bigger and better than ever for its tenth anniversary, Vander Bloomen said the event also represents a return to its roots for the De Pere Area Chamber of Commerce.

“Our mission had always been connecting our businesses and our citizens and we had gotten away from that,” Vander Bloomen said.

“I had asked our board of directors last year to brainstorm some ways to get back to our mission, so this year we are much more community focused and our theme is connecting people and creating opportunities. When I look at things that we can present as far as events go, whether it is for the community or for our members, it has to check those two boxes — community and connections… When I look at bringing our local artists together and people that want to showcase what they do and connecting them with people in the community, I don’t think it can be any more valuable.”

Art in the Park will take place Saturday, June 28, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at Voyageur Park with a rain date of June 29.

More information about the event can be found on the De Pere Area Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page.