The Manayunk Arts Festival is one of the oldest and largest art festivals in the country. It is truly an honor to be selected as
"Best Artist in the Emerging Artist Tent."

Ha, it was kind of funny, because when two of the festival organizers approached my table, Bruce (my festival helper and husband) and I both thought - geez, did we not set up correctly? Did we violate some kind of festival rule?

To my surprise, the festival folks came around to tell me the exciting news that I was selected Best Artist in the Emerging Artist Tent.

Perks

There are lots of perks that go along with the honor - #1 is BRAGGING RIGHTS, which I took full advantage of! Each person who visited my table heard, "I have been selected Best Emerging Artist." And, they kindly replied, "Well, you deserve it!"

The "Best" award offers a free table in the Emerging Artist tent or a discount on an individual tent on Main Street next year. I may take the leap to Main Street next year, not certain yet.

Why I love the festival

The festival is a 2-day marathon for the artists, but I enjoy participating in the festival because I get to connect with so many folks. The cool thing about art is that it is a catalyst for so many conversations with so many people. Where else could I have the opportunity to connect with hundreds of fun and kind people from all walks of life!—it's really a unique experience for me.

Thankfully, the weather was beautiful and we did not have to worry about artwork getting ruined or blown away! (Which did happen to me the first year!)

Art looks better...

Sales of my prints, earrings, and tiles exceeded all my expectations! As one of my artist friends says, "An award makes the art look better." The truth!

Thank you for reading and tolerating my bragging!

Thanks again - Christina Tarkoff.