30-01-2025
Interactive Carbondale art festival looking for artists
An interactive art festival in Carbondale is once again looking for artists to showcase their talents.
As organizers of the annual Arts THRIVE in Carbondale prepare for their seventh festival on June 7, they are opening up their yearly call for artists in hopes of bringing in about three dozen participants to hold interactive art demonstrations at Memorial Park in downtown Carbondale, said Mary Lynn Brannon, a member of Women to Women: THRIVE, which organizes the festival.
'We're looking for the same diversity as we always look for,' Brannon said, adding they are looking for both artists who have attended past festivals as well as new participants. 'We want to keep the festival going and continuing.'
The free, all-ages art walk tasks artists with not just displaying their work but engaging with attendees through interactive demonstrations. With help from vital grant funding through the Lackawanna County Arts and Culture Department, Arts THRIVE will give artists a stipend of up to $150 to pay for supplies, Brannon said. Artists are asked to come up with a plan to have festivalgoers sit down and make something with them, with some artists having 'make-and-take' demonstrations where participants can take the artwork home, Brannon said.
'It gives (artists) a chance to interact more than they normally would,' she said. 'This is creativity, and it's interactive.'
In previous years, demonstrations have included painting across different mediums, from rocks to glass, using a letterpress, weaving with a loom and cake decorating, Brannon said.
'Anything is art,' she said.
This years, organizers would especially like to feature interactive pottery and another loom, she said.
First held in 2018, Arts THRIVE has only missed one year, during a COVID-19 hiatus in 2020. The festival has grown over the years, with artists coming from as far as upstate New York, Philadelphia and New Jersey, Brannon said.
'They want to come back, so it's wonderful,' she said. 'It brings people to Carbondale.'
Brannon hopes the festival will help people to understand the importance of the arts.
There will also be up to 20 vendors, though vendors have to pay $50 to set up shop at the festival.
For Mayor Michele Bannon, who is also a member of Women to Women: THRIVE, the festival has become a tradition for Carbondale every first Saturday of June. It shows people that Carbondale is a place where they can learn a new craft, she said. The festival exemplifies THRIVE — short for teach, help, reach, invest, value and encourage, Bannon said.
People want events and activities downtown, and with a wide variety of mediums on display, Arts THRIVE will allow city officials to see what is especially popular to focus on in the city, she said.
'We come from a culture around here where we share our talents with one another, so by having Arts THRIVE bring in artists from all different genres to allow them to share their talents and their craft with people, that just makes people's quality of life richer because they can find something that they enjoy doing,' Bannon said. 'At the same time, it adds to the culture of our downtown.'
Interested artists can email womentowomenthrive@ or send a message on Facebook at
