Gloucester Arts Festival kicks off on June 6

The Gloucester Arts Festival kicks off on June 6 with a week full of activities for art lovers, from the free Symphony Under the Stars to the lavish Plein Air Gala. In addition, 30 plein air artists from across the nation and beyond will be arriving as guests of the festival to spend the week as part of the Plein Air Invitational. They will be at many of the events to paint scenes and meet the public.

The week begins on Friday, June 6 with the annual Brews, Brine & Wine gathering on Timberneck Farm at Machicomoco State Park. From 5-8:30 p.m., rain or shine, participants will be able to enjoy oysters and beer or wine as part of their $25 advance ticket. There will also be food available at various food trucks, along with beer, wine, and whiskey tastings. Music will be by the RaJazz band.

On Saturday, June 7, the artists will spread out along Gloucester Main Street from 10 a.m. until noon for the fast-paced Paint Main. Community painters will also be able to compete for prizes in a separate competition for a $10 entry fee. The paintings will be judged on the Tabb House Lawn (now House of Ren), after which they will be for sale “fresh off the easel.” The public is invited to attend the event as spectators.

Saturday will also see the annual Symphony Under the Stars, a free family concert performed for the community by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Benjamin Rous. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. at the corner of Main Street and Walter Reed Way with a performance by the Gloucester trio The Liberty Dolls, followed by the orchestra at 8 p.m. If it rains, the concert will be held at T.C. Walker Education Center, 6099 T.C. Walker Road.

On Tuesday, June 10, the excitement moves to Mathews, where the Bay School Community Arts Center is sponsoring the Mathews Paint Out. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the plein air artists will paint at various sites in the county, with the public welcome to observe them. The public is also invited to join the artists for a free reception at 5:30 p.m. at the Bay School on Mathews Main Street. The paintings created during the day will be available for purchase.

An exclusive soirèe for art patrons will be held from 5–8 p.m. on Thursday, June 12 at historic Dixondale Wharf. Patrons attending the event will be able to select a painting before the lottery that will be held at the upcoming gala. They will also be able to engage with the artists.

The opening week will round out with the Plein Air Gala from 6–9 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, at the Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester. The elegant evening will bring together art, culture, and community, with candlelit tables, fresh florals, a selection of gourmet hors d’oeuvres, an oyster bar, and wine, cocktails, and martinis. Live cello music will be by Joshua Sierra Delgado. The highlight of the evening will be the unveiling of 150 plein air paintings created by the guest artists for the Heart of the River Collection. Patrons will be able to enter the lottery ahead of the general public for first pick at the works. Tickets are $150.

Those who don’t attend the gala might want to catch a performance that night by the Lord Nelson Band, performing original rock and roll beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Flat Iron Crossroads, 7709 Flat Iron Lane, Gloucester. Tickets are $20 in advance.

The festival will continue throughout the month with an Arts at Abingdon concert by the SOMA quartet on June 19, the York & Main art show “Traces of Transformation” on June 21, a Flat Iron Crossroads concert by The English Channel on June 21, and the free all-day Art in the Village event on Main Street on June 28, with an artisan fair, pop-up classes, live music, and art demonstrations.

The final event of the Gloucester Arts Festival will be the It’s a Wrap reception from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, at the Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester, where the 2025 Heart of the River Collection will be on display and available for purchase (if not already sold) for the final time. That evening, there will also be a concert at Flat Iron Crossroads, featuring Anthony Rosano and the Conqueroos.

For more information about the Gloucester Fine Arts Festival, including ticket purchases and biographical information on all 30 of the artists, visit gloucesterartsfestival.com.

PHOTO COURTESY THE COOK FOUNDATION Plein air artists will visit Gloucester in June for the annual Gloucester Arts Festival, participating in a variety of activities and painting scenes of Gloucester, Here, during last year’s Paint Main, a two-hour contest held on Gloucester Main Street, plein air artist Matt Lively paints the mural he painted in 2022 on the Hudson Building.