Art in the Park, PUBlic Art Crawl and Summer in the Streets Festival coming to Huntington village
Mural artist Marni Butchkoski will be painting a mural in real time during the annual PUBlic Art Crawl in Huntington village on June 3. Credit: Marni Butchkoski
Huntington village will be anything but a still life on June 3, as three free events combine to create a day geared to actively experiencing local art.
The 53rd Art in the Park event returns to Heckscher Park after three years on hiatus due to the pandemic; the third annual PUBlic Art Crawl includes live mural painting and chance to enjoy outdoor, public facing art; a new event, the Summer in the Streets Festival, kicks off with the closing of Wall Street from noon to 5 p.m.
All of the events are within walking distance of each other, and in conjunction with the festivities, restaurants will be offering specials and discounts.
Art in the Park
Art in the Park, which also continues on Sunday, is a rain-or-shine event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Heckscher Park, 25A and Sabbath Day Path. “It’s a community favorite,” says Marianne Della Croce, executive director of the Art League of Long Island, which sponsors the event. More than 50 artists will display artwork and crafts for sale at individual booths on the lawn.
Dana Neger-Lagos of Smithtown will be bringing her metalwork sculptures to Art in Park on June 3 and 4. Credit: Dana Neger-Lagos
“Everybody’s set up like a regular street fair, in 10-by-10 pop-up tents,” Della Croce says. Art includes beach glass designs, painted scarves, basket weaving, leather bags, handmade candles, jewelry, ceramics and more. Several artists will demonstrate their techniques. Dominic Sparano, a ceramics artist from Wantagh who specializes in functional pottery such as vases, cups, bowls and plates, will do wheel throwing and trimming at his booth. Dana Neger-Lagos, a metalwork artist from Smithtown, will be bringing tools to let participants try out hammers and pliers. "I let them have a taste of what actual metalsmithing is like," she says. There’ll also be a table for children’s art activities, live music and food trucks, Della Croce says. The Heckscher Museum of Art is also on the park grounds.
PUBlic Art Crawl
Participants can pick up a map that shows more than 40 works of public facing, outdoor art in Huntington village and take a self-guided walking tour, says Leanne Gelish, director of operations of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce, which is sponsoring the noon to 5 p.m. event. The maps can be picked up at Wall Street, in the alleyway between New York Avenue and New Street, and at The Agency building at 229 Main St.. “Our whole goal is to create this buzz around all the art we have such access to in Huntington,” Gelish says.
Two guided tours will be offered as well. One at 12:30 p.m. is led by Going Local Tours & Experiences and will take participants throughout the village to see art and learn about each artist and the history of the space; a 4:30 p.m. pub tour will take attendees to five local eateries that feature art on their walls. Planned eateries so far include Industry, Repeal XVIII, Leilu and Spotlight, Gelish says.
The tours are free but limited to 35 people each; the 12:30 p.m. event is sold out, Gelish says. Other events during the day include live mural painting that visitors can watch progress, one of them next to the B.J. Spoke Gallery at 299 Main St. and the other in the alley between New York Avenue and New Street. Artist Marni Butchkoski will be creating the latter, which will showcase Huntington village from the past and present. “I will be painting it in real time; I’m going to be drawing it up and painting start to finish,” Butchkoski says. Rain date is June 10.
Summer in the Streets Festival
The PUBlic Art Crawl is being used to launch a new series of offerings called the Summer in The Streets Festival, Gelish says. Wall Street will be closed from New York Avenue to Gerard Street and visitors can enjoy live music and artists will also have artwork for sale. This is the first of three street festivals during the summer (July 29 and Aug. 26).
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
