More than two dozen highly acclaimed and award-winning plein air artists from across the country will travel to Gloucester next month to take part in this year’s Gloucester Arts Festival.

Among other highlights of the festival will be a talk and a workshop by a globally renowned sculpture conservator, the annual Plein Air Gala, and an open studio tour.

The festival is hosting or co-hosting numerous events featuring the fine and performing arts, many of which are free and open to the public.

According to a press release from the Cook Foundation and the Gloucester Arts Festival Committee, which sponsor the annual event, the 27 plein air artists will spend eight days painting the countryside and people at work on boats and farms for the 2023 “Heart of the River Collection.” Artists will gather at designated picturesque venues, where the public will be able to “watch the magic unfold,” said the release.

The festival will kick off on Friday, June 2, with Brews, Brine, and Wine at Machicomoco State Park. The event will feature RaJazz, a jazz and contemporary rhythm and blues band, along with food and drinks by Cappahosic Oysters, Saude Creek Winery, Gloucester Brewing, and several food trucks.

The Virginia Symphony Orchestra will perform its free annual Under the Stars Concert on Sunday, June 3 on the lawn at the corner of Main Street and Walter Reed Way, and WHRO and Short Lane Ice Cream Co. will partner with the festival on June 4 for a special celebration of classical music and dessert at the ice cream shop. Local musicians are invited to sign up to perform.

There will be more opportunities to watch the painters practice their art during the Mathews Paint Out on Tuesday, June 6 at various locations in Mathews, Cocktails in the Garden on Thursday, June 8 at Goshen Farm, and the ever-popular Paint Main on Saturday, June 10 all along Gloucester Main Street.

On Wednesday, June 7, last year’s muralist Matt Lively, who painted the floral mural on the Hudson building and has become a plein air painter, as well, will give a gallery talk at Arts on Main.

The festival is also partnering this year with Flat Iron Crossroads, which on Friday, June 9 will host The Boneshakers, fresh off a European tour and appearances at the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals.

All of the plein air paintings will be displayed at the annual Plein Air Invitational Gala, to be held on Saturday, June 10 at the Barn at Elmington Estate, where sponsors and patrons may purchase the paintings. Following that, and through June 30, the Heart of the River Collection paintings will be on display at Arts on Main in Gloucester.

On June 13, a grand opening will be held for the new Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester, which will be located in the former YMCA space at Main Street Center. The opening exhibit will be “Back Home,” comprising 90 works spanning nearly five decades by the late Kacey Carneal, a Gloucester artist whose works are documented in the American Folk Art Museum and Abby Aldrich Folk Art Museum. The museum has acquired more than 300 of Carneal’s works for future display.

The grand opening will include an exclusive gallery talk featuring guest speaker Andrew Baxter, a globally renowned sculpture conservator for The Getty, the Smithsonian, the White House, and the National Gallery of Art.

In addition, Baxter will conduct a Metalwork and Conservation Workshop in the combine shed at Goshen Farm on June 15 and 16. It will feature metal finishing and chemical patina application techniques he has perfected during his career while working with numerous pieces by such artists as Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Gaston Lachaise, Plensa, and others.

The festival’s performing arts events continue on Thursday, June 15 with Irish music from Dana Lyn and Kyle Sanna at an Arts at Abingdon concert at Abingdon Episcopal Church, followed on Saturday, June 17 with A Night Off-Broadway at Gloucester High School, during which three different one-act plays will be performed, “Bad Dates” by the Gloucester High School Dukes, “Dr. Walter Reed and the Cuban Connection” by Dr. Katrina Brown, and “Live, Onstage!” by the Williamsburg Players.

On Friday and Saturday, June 16 and 17, the public will be able to get “up close and personal” as they experience the beauty and craftsmanship of Gloucester County’s own talented artists during the Heart of the River Open Studio Tour. Art lovers will visit studios, meet the artists, and gain insight into their vision and techniques. Painters, potters, sculptors, and a bootmaker are among the varied types of media that await. The artists will have their work for sale, and some will have special guests and do demonstrations.

The festival closes on Saturday, June 24 with Village Arts Day, bringing the community together to enjoy live music, dancing, the Chryslers Musuem’s Mobile Glass Blowing Studio, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ ArtMobile, an Artisan Market, children’s art activities, and the festival’s Last Chance “It’s a Wrap” reception.

Admission ranges from free for many of the events to $100 for an individual ticket to the Plein Air Invitational Gala. A 2023 Festival Pass is $205 and admits the holder to all paid festival events.

Special Patron tickets are also available for $250 to $500 that include admission and art discounts.

Additional ticket prices are: Cocktails in the Garden, $75; Brews, Brine & Wine, $20 for over 21 and $10 for under 21; and A Night Off Broadway, $10. The Paint Main Community Artists fee is $10.

Sponsorships are still available, as well, at various prices, from the Grand Prize–Best in Show Award for $5,000 to the Friends of the Festival Individual Sponsor at $100.

For in-depth information about the festival, visit gloucesterartsfestival.com.