When entrepreneur and philanthropist Adrianne Ryder-Cook Joseph came to Gloucester in the late 1980s, the county had some talented and dedicated artists, but the arts scene was small, and people often had to travel outside of the county to find art galleries and museums, symphonies and performances.

Now, some 35 years later, the arts are thriving in Gloucester, with a month-long celebration every June of all things art—the Gloucester Arts Festival—to highlight artists, showcase their work, and encourage artistic expression by everyone in the community.

The festival kicks off this weekend with the Brews, Brine & Wine ticketed event from 5-8 p.m. Friday at Machicomoco State Park, 3601 Timberneck Road, and continues Saturday with the free Symphony Under the Stars concert from 8-9:45 p.m. on the lawn at the intersection of Main Street and Walter Reed Way, featuring the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, preceded by a performance at 6 p.m. by Gloucester’s own Liberty Dolls.

Other events this coming week will include the WHRO Classical Open Mic at 1 p.m. on Sunday, June 4 and 3 p.m. on Monday, June 5 at Short Lane Ice Cream; the Mathews Paint Out from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6; a gallery talk by 2022 festival muralist Matt Lively from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 7 at the new Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester at Main Street Center; and Cocktails in the Garden from 5-7 p.m. next Thursday, June 8, at Goshen.

Joseph, speaking at her offices in Main Street Center this week, said she grew up in a home that recognized the value of art in all its forms, where she was offered piano lessons and art lessons and visits to art galleries and performances, and she wanted to offer the same kind of opportunities in her new community. So, in 1999 she established the nonprofit, privately funded Cook Foundation, with a mission to nurture and sponsor the arts in Gloucester. As a result, art has flourished in the county over the past two decades.

Joseph’s first major project was sponsoring the Beehive initiative in 2001 that had local artists painting large beehive structures and displaying them throughout the county, with 57 of the sculptures lined up along Main Street at one point. The foundation brought the Virginia Symphony Orchestra to town in 2006 for the Symphony Under the Stars, which became an annual event, and starting in 2009 had murals painted on various downtown buildings to further bring art to public outdoor spaces. There were Chalkfests and flower baskets for Main Street and original theater productions and art scholarships to enrich the art experience for everyone.

Then, seven years ago, the Gloucester Arts Festival was established to not only showcase local art but also to invite artists from all across the country to come to Gloucester. Selected artists give lectures and demonstrations, and over two dozen internationally known Plein Air artists come to town for the Plein Air Invitational and paint original pieces in various locations of their choosing. They also paint at festival-sponsored events such as Blues, Brine & Wine this Friday, the Mathews Paint Out this coming Tuesday, Cocktails in the Garden at Joseph’s own Goshen Farm on June 8, and the annual Plein Air Gala and Paint Main, both on June 10. Some of the events are ticketed and some are free, but all of them give local residents a chance to see art being made, up close and personal.

Local artists are part of the festival, as well, participating in Paint Main in the community competition, opening their studios for the annual Studio Tour on June 16 and 17, and exhibiting their work in booths during Village Arts Day on June 24, a free day of fun and arts appreciation for the whole family. There will also be live performances, including The Boneshakers Concert on June 9 at Flat Iron Crossroads, Arts at Abingdon with Dana Lyn & Kyle Sanna on June 15 at Abingdon Episcopal Church, A Night Off Broadway on June 17 at Gloucester High School, and performances during Village Arts Day by local groups such as the Ware Church Choral School Children’s Choir, the Bayside Youth Ballet, the Gloucester Mathews Men’s Chorus gospel group, The Liberty Dolls, and Ralph Motley and the Last Minute Grass.

Thanks to the festival, Gloucester now has outdoor sculptures at various downtown locations, including large metal horses by Adrian Landon, playful abstract metal pieces by Jay Lagemann, and lifelike people by Seward Johnson Atelier.

“We’re cultivating an appreciation of the arts simply by making them available to all,” said Joseph.

The foundation’s most recent project has been to establish the Fine Arts Museum of Gloucester in Main Street Center, acquiring over 300 paintings and painted artifacts by the late Kacey Carneal as a permanent collection. Carneal was a self-taught naïve folk artist who painted in her Gloucester home every day for nearly 50 years. The museum will have its grand opening on Tuesday, June 13, with 90 of Carneal’s pieces on display in a retrospective titled “Back Home.” The opening will begin with a talk by noted sculpture conservator Andrew Baxter, who has worked for the Getty, the Smithsonian, and the Hirshhorn, at 4 p.m., followed by a reception at 5:30 p.m.

Joseph said the goal is to have regular exhibits at the museum on a no-fee basis unless an exhibit is very expensive and a fee is needed to help cover costs. She envisioned school students taking field trips to the museum instead of having to travel away from Gloucester for such experiences and said that a trip to the library could be included as part of their day.

“I love the arts and want to share that love with Gloucester,” said Joseph. “Art feeds the soul and makes people recognize the beauty around them as they see it through the eyes of someone else … It’s easy to become blasé about the natural beauty that exists in Gloucester because we see it every day, but an artist can capture the essence of it and make you see it anew.”