For 50 years, artists with amazing talents and unsurpassed skills have returned each July to the streets of Ann Arbor, exhibiting in the genuine Ann Arbor Art Fairs, displaying their latest work and engaging the imaginations of more than 500,000 annual fairgoers. The varied parts of the Fair fit together to form an amazing impression–filled with sound and color and mystery and drama, creating an intriguing event with more than a dash of style. No matter what direction you take, no matter where you look, you’ll discover colors and sights that will energize and captivate, and maybe even change your life. That’s the incredible power of art.

And beyond the art, there’s the remarkable city of Ann Arbor, with stores, restaurants and people watching that rivals any metro area. Come meet our talented artists, enjoy our exceptional city and help us celebrate the 50th anniversary of the award-winning Ann Arbor Art Fairs.

As publisher of Art Showcase Magazine, I have had much involvement with the Ann Arbor Art Fairs over the years. This year, however, is the first (I hope the first of many) in which ASM has had the pleasure of presenting to you the Ann Arbor Art Fairs Official Event Guide. Among the many honors that come with this role is the opportunity to work closely with four very dedicated and under-appreciated directors of the four Fairs who do so much work behind the scenes to bring this colossal event to the city of Ann Arbor and its surrounding communities. Please allow me to thank and recognize these fine individuals: Shary Brown of the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original (who, as you’ll read on page 14 of the Guide, is retiring later this year after a prolific career in the arts); Kathy Krick of the State Street Area Art Fair; Maggie Ladd of Ann Arbor’s South University Art Fair; and Max Clayton of the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair.

I am also excited this year because for the first time since starting ASM I will finally have some free time to enjoy the Fairs like a normal, art-loving human being. You see, every year previous to this you’d find me at the Fairs wheeling boxes of Art Showcase Magazines from one end of town to the other in a desperate attempt to keep my magazine racks filled. And as rewarding as that task is, it is extremely exhausting! This year will thankfully be different. As the publisher of the official guide, I can now rely on the wonderful volunteers at each of the Fairs’ convenient information booths as well as the hard-working bunch at the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority to distribute the Guide. As a result, I will have time to view the all the art and take in all the entertainment that the Ann Arbor Art Fairs has to offer. I plan to post blogs each day after attending the Fairs describing my Ann Arbor Art Fairs experience. In many ways, it will be as if I’m attending the Fairs for the very first time! I hope you’ll check back each day, read my blog and perhaps share your experience at the Fairs as well.

Until tomorrow then….