
Your Guide to the 53rd Kentuck Festival of the Arts in Tuscaloosa This Weekend
The Kentuck Festival of the Arts will bring thousands of visitors to the area this weekend, but as most readers know, things are going to look a little different with a first-year executive director hosting the event in a brand-new space.
Exa Skinner took the reins of the Kentuck Art Center from longtime executive director Amy Echols last December. Less than a week later, their board of directors voted to move the Festival from Northport to Tuscaloosa over irreconcilable differences with leadership on that side of the river.

Skinner's first festival will take place this Saturday and Sunday, and for the first time in its 53-year history, it will be in a new location, moving from Kentuck Park in Northport to the just-upgraded Snow Hinton Park in Tuscaloosa.
The Thread caught up with Skinner as she oversees prep for the two-day Festival, which historically draws between 10,000 and 20,000 attendees.
Skinner said all systems are go as her organization braces to welcome more than 270 artists across all media to the park. The festival will also feature bands and musicians, spoken word storytelling, activities for children, folk and contemporary craft demonstrations, food trucks and local craft brews on offer.
"When we had the ribbon-cutting here at the park last week, I cried because it was so beautiful and you can see how it's gonna work out," Skinner said. "I think people are just really going to be blown away with how gorgeous this park is and how nice everything is going to be."
Skinner said even in a larger venue, the Festival isn't going to balloon in size this weekend.
"Even though we do have more space here in Tuscaloosa, we're still keeping the number of artists at 275 because one of the things Kentuck is known for and part of the reason it has endured for 50 years is because of the top quality of the art showcased there," Skinner said. "We wanted to keep that sort of exclusivity, we want it to be kind of a hard show to get into but we also think this will allow plenty of space for people to have some separation between booths so visitors can really look at the art and artists have room to spread out and show off of their things."
Skinner said most folks visiting the Festival will use University Mall Circle to park in an overflow lot near the Men's Belk and take a free shuttle driven by heroic volunteers from the Tuscaloosa County School System right to the entrance to the event.
The newly expanded lot at Snow Hinton Park will be reserved for accessible parking, some exhibiting artists and other special users - regular visitors will use the mall lot.
The City of Tuscaloosa Trolley is also providing a free shuttle from the downtown parking deck on 7th Street to Snow Hinton Park.
If online sales ahead of the event and unprecedented artist interest are any sign, the place is going to be packed, Skinner said. She advised Saturday visitors to consider getting tickets ahead of time or visit early as the line to get in may get long that afternoon.
Skinner said she's been somewhat nervous about pulling off her first Festival, but the organization's new partnership with leadership in Tuscaloosa has made everything easier.
"The one thing I knew was the city of Tuscaloosa was going to do everything they could to help us make it happen and they really have," Skinner said. "From providing us with fencing to making sure that TPD is out here to learn about traffic patterns and learn what we expect, everyone we've worked with has been super kind and super helpful. They bring solutions, not problems and that has been amazing, it's really helped us emotionally and mentally to feel better about the whole thing."
Critically, Skinner said Kentuck still needs volunteers - for a two or three-hour shift, volunteers can get admittance into the Festival for free. Different roles and time slots are available based on preference.
"We still have some volunteer positions that we really need filled," Skinner said. "A lot of festivals our size have gone to hiring event companies that do the work our volunteers do and we have purposely not done that because we get so many wonderful comments from our artists, our patrons and our community about how the volunteers who welcome people are so hospitable and great. I encourage anybody who's never volunteered before to check it out because it's really fun - it's actually how I got involved with Kentuck! As a college student, I started volunteering at the festival and here we are today."
The 53rd Kentuck Festival of the Arts will be in Tuscaloosa's Snow Hinton Park this Saturday and Sunday. For more comprehensive information, check out the Festival website here.
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Gallery Credit: (Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
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