A past edition of Arts in the Park, which returns to Byrd Park April 30-May 1
The weather has never shut down Arts in the Park.
“Our vendors have tents,” says event spokesperson Paige Quilter, "so we’re kind of like the Postal Service: ‘Neither rain nor sleet’ would stop Arts in the Park.”
Tents don't protect against a pandemic, however. The long-running event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 but returns to the Carillon April 30-May 1 for its 51st year.
“This year we’re looking at more than 400 artists from all over the country, fine art and crafts, no commercially named things,” Quilter says. “People have been asking us, ‘You are going to have Arts in the Park this year, right?’ ”
What began in 1972 as a small exhibition inside the Virginia War Memorial Carillon as a symbol of community pride evolved into a Richmond rite of spring. The officers of the Carillon Civic Association sought to bring attention to their community while also raising funds — at least initially — for neighborhood improvement projects from planting flowers to building a playground.
“There were a lot of iniquities in the 1970s,” Quilter recalls. “We had Realtors running around our neighborhood knocking on the doors, ‘Black people are coming! You better move out of here!’ And my parents and their friends, they said, 'No, we’re not doing that.' So today, we’re recognized across the country as a successfully integrated community.”
Quilter’s parents, Bob and Pat Lovelace, and neighbors Richard and Barbara Towell were central to the first committee that birthed the Arts in the Park.
“What’s one of the best ways to bring people together?” Quilter asks. “It’s art. Our event became one of the largest in the country.”
She grew up with Arts in the Park. Did she, especially in her teen years, became grumpy with having to direct traffic or help artists set up their displays?
Quilter laughs. “Oh, no, because it wasn’t only a family thing, but involved the whole neighborhood. I got a sense early on of being a part of something important. The community pulls together to make this happen, and then people from all over come to have the experience.”
The philosophy of Arts in the Park hasn’t changed in 51 years. Besides the addition of food vendors, the artists and their works are paramount. The event is free, and free shuttles are available from the parking areas of City Stadium to the Carillon to help mitigate traffic congestion. Proceeds from artist registrations support nonprofit organizations including Feed More, the Children’s Museum of Richmond and Health Brigade, besides contributing to neighborhood maintenance.
The annual occasion possesses, too, a character of reunion. Quilter meets both artists and visitors from near and far who, like her, grew up amid the tents, booths and sense of occasion.
“We get letters from the artists complimenting the friendliness of the volunteers," she says. Nobody’s barking at them. They feel a part of something, too, a larger family.”
