Las Olas Art Fair

Better this year than many in past. Quality of art overall better and more varied. Enjoyed taking to all the newer artists and some familiar friends. Saturday was a gorgeous day (early in morning) so we just took in the vitamin D sunshine and had a great breakfast at the Riverside watching all the people.

I’m an artist and love any places that displays art. I already like Las Olas Blvd, so how bad can this venue be??? Anyway, I have a bad back that usually shows up within an hour. I guess I’ve always been fortunate and casually parked on the street. I’ve never noticed parking lots, so is there and where? Thx!

Typical art fest that you find in most cities in the US. Mostly generic, expensive art and jewelry. In fact, the jewelry seemed more on the blasé and tacky end than eclectic or funky. Maybe to appeal to the older crowd? Nothing special. The festival is small too, compared to others I’ve been to in other cities. Generally pleasant to walk through despite oblivious people blocking the flow of foot traffic. We went in several permanent shops too. I wish there had been some food and drink booths set up from restaurants in the area.
We found no port-​a-​potties but were directed to use the bathrooms in the Riverside Hotel. And people need to leave their poor, sweet dogs at home. Their paws burn on the pavement!
Worth a walk through but wouldn’t go again.

There are many artists from around the country that show up for this art fair. Show up before 10am because the booths will already be open and you can avoid the crowds. Expect to see most items costing way over $ 100. This is not an inexpensive art fair.
You will find sculptures, paintings, photographs, jewelry, etc.
The only item I have ever purchased is the annual Las Olas Art Fair poster. It is an illustration of Las Olas and they change it every year. I had the $ 10 poster framed for $ 200 and it looks great!
You can park at the many parking lots around Las Olas. Expect to pay $ 10. Las Olas is closed to traffic so you can’t park on Las Olas.

They close off the entire main length of Las Olas and double row it with all sorts of art and craft vendors. It attacks large numbers, really gets crowded and parking is at a premium with private parking areas pricey. All of the restaurants and cafes tend to be packed to capacity but if you time things right you can usually find a seat though the service you get might be slow and stressed out.
Most beachside cities of the area have art fairs. However, the Las Olas Art Fair generally stands out as one of the better. That is due in part to the fact that the art vendors are more specifically oriented towards actual works of art rather than vendors selling or hyping commercially produced crafts such as those ever popular but atrociously ugly cypress clocks, white porcelain cats or pink plastic flamingos which so often typify the worst of what are purported as crafts.
On a cautionary note, be careful about photography. A good number of the art vendors are very protective of their original works, do not want anyone duplicating them; hence generally resent people taking photographs. It’s best to ask permission first.

My sweetie and I went today October 19^th to the 26^th annual Las Olas Art Festival. We had been before… or to some other arts & crafts festival here on Las Olas. I was a little disappointed. It was very small and had very minimal food. My and I walked the whole thing (at a strolling pace) in under 45 minutes. Not enough variety in the art. No new artists.
I woke up excited to eat kettle corn and iced tea when we got there but the only food available was one tent in the center selling sausage w/​peppers, cheeseburgers and hotdogs plus canned sodas. Then there were two frozen lemonade carts elsewhere. Some of the restaurants brought out a table/​cart to the edge of the sidewalk and sold alcohol.
Will I make the drive up from Miami next year? Meh… maybe not.

I just so happened to be in Ft. Lauderdale this past weekend when the Art Fair was being held and I was very excited to check it out. Turns out though, it’s just A-​OK. The art was pretty expensive and a few booths seemed to repeat each other. It was a nice afternoon of walking around looking at pretty things but if I missed the next Art Fair, I wouldn’t be too upset.
Tip: Get a hot dog from the vendor in front of Mango’s. Best hotdog ever.

ZZZzzz ZZZzzz ZZZzzz
Excuse me, I nodded off just as I did at this art fair…
Not literally, but for the most part, the fun and excitement I did enjoy had more to do with what Las Olas and Himmarshee have to offer on any given day (which is easy to find parking, decent restaurants and friendly locals).
The excitement of walking into the crowds was fun at first, but that thrill lasted a whole 10 minutes once you realize that Las Olas Boulevard is not the widest street around and there is no room whatsoever to walk (especially with so many people with baby carriages, albeit mostly with dogs and the occasional wheelchair that I felt bad for since they had no option to hop up a curb).
The walkway along the face of the art tents were literally about 6 foot and ironically the sidewalks were not really an option since the restaurants took them over to have added table service. Year after year and the same issues, and no remedy to date (why not move to Bubier Park located directly along Las Olas requiring no name change).
With over 200 artists tents, you’d think they’d attract more talent. Sorry if I offend but most of what I saw was unexciting and stale. Although there was about 5 booths that offered unique and quality art, especially Lewis Tardy (you sir are quite impressive). The prices offered by some of the artists were somewhat ridiculous as some of the prices asked for decent pieces were higher than walking into a gallery and buying art by well known artists. For example, a lovely, blown glass vase was priced higher than a comparable piece of Gallé (if you don’t know Gallé then consider Gallé the Picasso of collectible art glass).
Apparently this art fair is one of many that moves from city to city and some of the artists come and go and some are regulars along the route. This is the same art fair that will take over Boca Raton for the Boca Fest this month and when it returns here in March.
The underlying saving grace was the cooler than normal weather, great nearby restaurants and friendly conversation.