A gorgeous setting provides the perfect backdrop for top-rated arts festival
The 2012 Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival will showcase more than 100 artists from 12 states.
Spending time outdoors in fresh farm air, strolling past intriguing art, humming to live music and peeking into small-town shops can bring as much pleasure as a dog must feel on a country drive with its head out a car window. Imagine such a glorious day, then pencil in “Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival” on your calendar for June 23-24, set your GPS for 1280 Moores Mill Road in Midway and get set for an artsy, relaxing road trip.
If the address sounds familiar to wine lovers in the Lexington area, it should, for there Equus Run Vineyards spreads across 35 acres and hosts a myriad of outdoor events for much of the year. Voted by CNN Travel as a “Must See Hidden Treasure of the U.S.,” the 14-year-old business has produced award-winning wine named Kentucky’s best by the readers of Kentucky Monthly for five years running.
Not to be outdone, Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival (FFAF) has garnered kudos of its own. Begun in 1994, the event won the Kentucky League of Cities’ Enterprise Cities Award in its first season, was named one of AmericanStyle’s Top 10 Art Fairs and Festivals (2007 to 2010), and has been chosen as a Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event for four years in a row, including 2012. The festival’s former event coordinator, Marcie Christiansen, believes its success has to do with the quality of art and crafts and with the fact that the show treats its exhibiting artists especially well.
Last year’s event featured 128 exhibitors from 15 states, with about half from Kentucky. Mediums include two-dimensional art, ceramics, fiber, glass, jewelry, mixed media, metal and wood. An array of eclectic live music, art projects for kids, and a demonstration of traditional printing techniques by Gray Zeitz of Larkspur Press are standing attractions. This year is designated as one of transition for the festival, as artist participation will be by invitation only, and the Lexington Art League, which produces the popular Woodland Arts Fair every August, will coordinate the art and crafts entries.
The event is an opportunity to see and purchase art straight from its creator, said Cynthia Bohn, owner, winemaker, chief cook and public relations director for Equus Run.
“When you buy original art, you’re getting the artist’s story as well,” she explained. “Having that personal connection is often as important as having the art itself.”
Once you’ve ogled art, grooved on music and sipped wine during FFAF, you can head about three miles down the pike to explore the state’s first town founded by a railroad
Originally called “Middleway,” Midway is halfway between Lexington and Frankfort, happily tucked among Bluegrass Thoroughbred farms. During its 1930s and ’40s rails heyday, up to 30 trains a day rumbled through the center of a downtown that stretches two blocks along the tracks. Several freight lines still use the active tracks running through Railroad Street, where beautifully restored historic buildings now house boutiques, gift shops and antique shops.
Though the art fair features numerous food vendors, consider saving your appetite for one – or several – of tiny Midway’s seven terrific restaurants.
Built around 1845, the Holly Hill Inn, winner of Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence each year since 2002, is known for luscious, local, seasonal ingredients prepared by Chef Ouita Michel, four-time James Beard Foundation Award nominee. Her casual eatery, Wallace Station Deli & Bakery boasts Wallace’s Big Burger, named by Food Network’s Guy Fieri as one of the top five he’s eaten.
Heirloom Restaurant serves “eclectic comtemporary cuisine” and natural foodies can feast on naturally-raised chicken and beef at Bistro LaBelle Market and Café. Folks hankering for old-fashioned eats can hop on a stool at Railroad Drug & Old Time Soda Fountain.
Put your feet up overnight at Scottwood Bed and Breakfast, a late-1700s Federal country home, with original wings restored by Jim Cogar, the first president and curator at colonial Williamsburg. And enjoy your country jaunt! n
Katherine Tandy Brown is a correspondent for The Lane Report. She can be reached at editorial@lanereport.com.