By Burton Cole
FALMOUTH — Call it the warmup act for the Wool Festival. The eighth annual Ewenique Artwalk is ready to take over Shelby Street sidewalks on Sept. 14.
“It’s gotten a lot bigger in eight years,” event coordinator Melanie Hartzel said. “Shelby Street will be closed off from Maple to Main — two full blocks — and we’re beginning to flow down Chapel Street. We’re almost out of space.”
From 4:30 to 9 p.m., a bevy of area artisans, cooks and performers will entertain crowds. “It’s a showcase of what our locals can do with arts and crafts,” Hartzel said. “The vendors are mostly smaller, local vendors.”
About 60 artisans will offer everything from paintings to soaps to oils to baked goods to fiber arts and most any other handmade crafts.
So far, six food trucks are signed up with burgers and fries, barbecue, tacos and Cuban fare.
Various local musicians and the Grace Dance Academy will perform. The Falmouth Methodist Church also will be back its display of quilts.
In past years, there has been an art auction, attendees have painted a mural, and store windows were filled with sheep-related artwork.
This year, there isn’t a big, public artwork, but an interactive booth will feature coloring sheets of sheep that attendees can color for display.
Since admission is free and there are no gates, it’s difficult to know how large the crowd is, but Hartzel estimates 2,000 to 2,500 people show up in that 4 ½-hour span.
“I feel like it’s an event that a lot of the locals love and a lot of tourists come to as well,” Hartzel said. “At the heart of it all is the art.”