Saxonburg Celebrates
SAXONBURG — The Saxonburg Festival of the Arts is slated for Sept. 7 and 8. It will include fine art, crafts, photography and a 5K community run/walk.
The theme for the fine art exhibits is the color orange. Awards totaling more than $3,000 will be presented. There will be a chance to win a print by Mark Anderson, wildlife artist.
Stan Walchesky will be the featured artist. Walchesky said he has enjoyed art all of his life. He started painting when he was very young, and as a teenager, he painted cartoons on muscle cars.
He basically is a self-taught artist, which he considers a gift from God.
He attended classes in drawing and decided he would like to try oil painting. Later, he experimented with watercolors. He found he liked working with light, deep shadows.
He paints old barns, sheds and out buildings that have a nostalgic look.
His work has been influenced by that of Andrew Wyeth.
Walchesky has studied under Bill Rettig, Tom Sheehan and William Perry and has taken workshops with Frederick Graff and Will Vrscak.
His latest project is a series of paintings of Louis Bachman Barns from 1800s Butler County.
He is a longtime member of the Associated Artists of Butler County, and his paintings hang in corporate and private collections.
Parking is free and shuttle service is available from the lot at Horne Avenue.
Sept. 78 a.m.5K Run and Community Walk, Roebling Park10 a.m. to 7 p.m.Craft and food booths open, Roebling Park, Cooper Hall and Main StreetFine arts, photography and ikebana exhibits, Saxonburg Memorial Presbyterian Church Hall, lower levelAntique tractors and gas engines, across North Rebecca Street from museum in Roebling ParkSaxonburg Area Artist's Co-Op metalworking, woodworking, sculpture demonstrations and musical artists, 215 Main St., rearBlast from the Past Cruisers Car Show, First Commonwealth Bank and Saxonburg Memorial Presbyterian Church parking lotsChildren's crafts and 3-D printer demonstrations, Saxonburg Library groundsQuilt Show, Centennial Hall of St. Luke's Church, State Street78th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Company F, Civil War Re-Enactment Group, across North Rebecca Street from museum in Roebling Parknoon to 1 p.m.Knoch Jazz Band, Roebling Park1 to 4 p.m.Jimbo the Clown strolling town1:30 to 3 p.m.Gibbons Big Band, Roebling Park3:30 to 5:30 p.m.East Winds Symphonic Band, Roebling Park6 to 7 p.m.Larry Belli and the Mercs, Roebling ParkSept. 8noon to 5:30 p.m.Craft and food booths open, Roebling Park, Cooper Hall and Main StreetFine arts, photography and ikebana exhibits, Saxonburg Memorial Presbyterian Church Hall, lower levelAntique tractors and gas engines, across North Rebecca Street from museum in Roebling ParkSaxonburg Area Artist's Co-Op, metalworking, woodworking, sculpture demonstrations, musical artists, 215 Main St., rearChildren's crafts and 3-D printer demonstrations, Saxonburg Library groundsQuilt show, Centennial Hall of St. Luke's Church, State Streetnoon to 1:30 p.m.Miss Freddye's Blues Band, Roebling Park1 to 4 p.m.Jimbo the Clown strolling town2 to 3 p.m.Voices in Praise — featuring the women's ensemble of St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, St. Luke's Church sanctuary2 to 3:30 p.m.Monongahela Duck Club Band, Roebling Park4 to 5:30 p.m.Pittsburgh Banjo Club, Roebling Park.
