The Athens Art Guild will host its first Halloween Night Market on Saturday, October 24, from 4 to 9 p.m. at the guild’s new headquarters, 667 East State Street in Athens, a family-friendly evening of local art, candy and games.
Founder and event coordinator Kelly Lawrence started the Athens Art Guild to better represent local artists, connecting them with experienced members who can help with entering and setting up at art shows. Saturday’s market is another chance for those vendors to sell their work, and for the community to enjoy a fun, safe Halloween outing, Lawrence said.
Six art vendors are lined up: Zainab Lahlou, Traci Becker, Azura Hawk-Ammon, Micki Lamb, Stefanie Mace and Lisa Heinz. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes, and vendors will have candy so children can trick-or-treat from booth to booth.
Heinz, a fiber artist who owns Southeast Ohio Fiberworks, has sold with the guild since 2021 at farmers markets and other in-person events. She plans to bring Halloween and fall-themed items, including yarn colorways called pumpkin spice latte and a black and chartreuse yarn called ghoulish.
Lahlou, who works in acrylic and oil painting on landscapes, portraits and still lifes, plans seasonal art including paintings with squirrels, pumpkins and black cats, and she will have candy for visitors who stop by her booth.
Beyond the booths, the night includes private 10-minute tarot card readings by Gina Kruzel, a paranormal investigator who has done readings for 45 years, Halloween-themed crafts, a firepit for s’mores and hotdogs, and games like spider and eyeball racing, a Halloween spin on the traditional egg-and-spoon race.
The market lands in the middle of a crowded Halloween weekend in Athens County. The Athens Independent’s fall listings put the Night Market at 4 p.m. Saturday alongside a Halloween party at American Legion Post 21 and a trunk-or-treat in Nelsonville that evening, with the fifth annual Witches Paddle at Strouds Run State Park following on Sunday afternoon.
The market is an early test of what the guild’s new headquarters at the Mansfield House makes possible, events members say they could not have staged without a home of their own. The guild’s next big date after Halloween is its Annual Holiday Shoppe on November 14 and 15 at the Athens Community Center, with more than 50 art vendors, food, raffles and music.
Photo: Tim Kiser, CC BY-SA