WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival wrapped up its 65th annual iteration on Sunday.
It’s no wonder the event is a favorite here in Central Florida, with food vendors and incredible art lining Park Avenue.
One of the artists in this year’s show, John Whipple, said he’s been consistently trying for this show since the mid ‘90s. He said he may have stretches where he is selected every year, but some years he’s not.
He said the festival is one of his favorites to participate in as an artist – but one reason in particular makes it that much more meaningful to be selected. He lives in Winter Park.
“It’s nice, we have other artists that stay with us, and you know a lot of these people travel the country and we all see each other in different cities,” Whipple said. “It’s always nice to have them come back to our house when we’re here and we go to their houses when we’re there.”
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Whipple debuted a new collection at the 2024 art festival. He said he typically uses darker, richer colors for his pieces, but this year he opted for more pastels.
“Well, people look at the work and they think it is going to be a portrait, but I don’t think of it that way,” Whipple said. “I start thinking of the face as a design motif. I just put it in there and from there it has its own identity. You start having a relationship with it and it starts morphing and changing so there’s a nice feedback.”
Whipple said the festival’s legacy is what sets it apart.
“I think it’s the local legacy, people come here every year,” Whipple said. “We have huge crowds, it’s something that is kind of ingrained in the community.”
A portion of the festival’s proceeds are donated to the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival Foundation to fund scholarships through the Jean Alice Oliphant Scholarship at Rollins College and the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival Scholarship at the University of Central Florida.
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