TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Hundreds of artists from all over the country have brought some of their best artwork to Tampa to compete in this year’s Gasparilla Festival of the Arts.
Nearly $100,000 is up for grabs making it one of the most attractive art festivals in America for artists like Glenn Woods.
“I know a lot of people applied to be in this show and to be selected is just a huge, huge honor,” Woods said.
While Woods is local, several artists including Karina Llergo were willing to pack up shop and travel far for this festival.
She brought her talents all the way from Chicago.
“It’s just such a fun ride because you know you go in your big van packed with all of your art and you just drive 24 hours to Florida,” Llergo said.
Llergo is this year’s GFA featured artist, which means her work is in the spotlight.
“I always have three elements that are in my art: air, water and dance,” Llergo said. “I used to be a competitive swimmer for many years and a dancer so I’m just mixing them together.”
This festival showcases a wide variety of artists from painters, to photographers to jewelry makers and more.
Now in its 54th year, artists like Pam Fox are reflecting on what it was like in the beginning.
“It’s crazy how much it’s grown,” Fox said. “We just had like a little you know stand.”
Now there are hundreds of tents that 30,000 people are expected to walk through over the weekend.
“This is really, really tough competition,” Woods said. “Anybody who is just thinking about maybe coming out you should just stop thinking and come out because the work here is awesome.”
If you’d like to see some of the artwork in person, the Festival takes place at Julian B. Lane Park on Saturday, March 2 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, March 3 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
