Amish Acres to Host 54th Arts and Crafts Festival This August

NAPPANEE, Indiana - Nearly 300 booths from 30 states and 200 cities will be converging for the 54th consecutive Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival.

The festival continues to garner national recognition. For the eighth time in ten years, Amish Acres has been selected by the American Bus Association (ABA) as a TOP 100 event in North America. In addition, the festival was recently recognized by "The Culture Trip", a London based website highlighting events from around the world, as one of Indiana's 10 Summer Events and Festivals "You Shouldn't Miss", solidifying the festival's standing in the top echelon of America's festivals dedicated to the creative arts.

The event opens on Thursday, August 4 and continues through Sunday, August 7.

From North Dakota to Louisiana and California to New York, art truly does make the world of Amish Acres go round during the Arts & Crafts Festival as artists and craftsmen ply their trade and sell their wares around the historic farm's pond. From its modest beginnings in front of the Pletcher Furniture Village, the event grew until it eventually filled the streets and alleys and remained downtown for seven years before moving to Amish Acres Historic Farm. The festival's iconic gazebo has moved locations six times over the decades to accommodate the ever growing marketplace. Now 54 years later, Richard Pletcher who founded the event, and his family continue to produce the festival.

Among the freshman class, Alex Grimmer of Los Angeles, CA, brings his Duct Tape Wallets and Duct Tape Art to the marketplace. Victor Bodrie and Carlye Voorhorst of Melbourne Beach, FL, introduces All Ready Leash - it's a dog collar and leash all in one. Michelle and Jason Smith from just down the road in Chesterton, IN creates burlaps wreaths, deco-mesh wreaths, and grapevine wreaths. From Helena, MT, Beau and Becky Anders introduces their humming bird feeders made from test tubes.

Bringing back some southern charm, Cindia Malone from Dallas, TX brings embroidered items for grandparents. WaaDee Hudson of Sherman Texas returns with his Five Star Creations/Southwest Pepper Grillers, and from neighboring Kentucky, Todd and Jeff Starnes return for their 6th year with decorative iron art.

Area artists include Cynthia Diamond of South Bend who creates quilts and pillows from t-shirts. Rebecca Haverstock of Rolling Prairie returns for her 21st year with Never Enough Time. Rebecca creates primitive folk art with birdhouses, garden stakes, and other seasonal items. Susan and Leonard Filewicz bring 21 flavors of gourmet dips from Bremen, IN. If you are looking for items for your garden, Nancy Nagy from Elkhart will be showcasing Cement Art for the Garden and home.

For the 15th year, Leon Hoffman makes his way to the festival from Tilly, AR with hand-crafted Wood Kitchenware and toys. Delores Quint has been exhibiting for 36 years; she is part of three generations making hand painted Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Signs. Linda and Phil Olson of Rockford, Michinga, are back with doll clothing for their 30th year. And celebrating a quarter century at the festival, Richard Stolk of Chesterfield, MO will be flying his banners and windsocks for all to see.

Renowned watercolor artists Lu Fuller of Maysville, Kentucky returns for his 4th year. Lu received "Best of Show" in 2012 for her transparent and opaque watercolor paintings of landscapes and florals.

The Nappanee Countryside Shoppes Pavilion showcases handmade goods representing over 250 cottage industries surrounding Nappanee, many owned by Amish and Mennonite families. The pavilion, which doubled in size in a single year, now features Rentown Store and Homestyle Furniture.

Festival hours are Thursday-Saturday (August 4-August 6) 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday (August 7) from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission price is $7.00 for adults; $6.00 for seniors, , and youth ages 12-17; active military personnel and children under age 12 are free. Parking is also free. No pets are allowed on the festival grounds. Amish Acres is located at 1600 West Market Street, (U.S. 6), one mile west of downtown Nappanee. For more information, call 800-800-4942 or visit online at www.amishacres.com.