7th Annual ArtoberFest A Success

On Saturday, Oct. 18, the 7th Annual Artoberfest was in town at the Moreno Valley Conference and Recreation Center. All types of local artists were welcomed to the event. Visual artists, performing artists, and even those who make their own arts and craft products all gathered to show off their skills to the rest of the community. “This event gives the whole community an opportunity to showcase their talent,” Arts Commission Chairman Richard Archer said. In its seventh year, Archer mentioned that the event has gone through some evolution. “We wanted to go after and welcome public services like Adopt a Pet, and Salvation Army,” he said. “We wanted to expand and bring a larger audience.” Not only did they invite public services, the Arts Commission added a Car Show to this year’s Artoberfest. “All these things helped us retain people,” Archer mentioned. “And we were very successful in doing that.” The event started at 10 a.m., and went to 5 p.m. The crowd stayed consistent throughout the day, said Archer. “People that would normally just sit down to watch one performance seemed to stay seated and watch more… that was great,” he shared. The event was filled with local artists. There were about 12 local visual artists: painters, photographers, and crafts people. Some were even selling their work. There were about 25 performing artists. “There was such a variety and diversity among all the performers,” Archer mentioned. Performers consisted of folklore groups, ballet groups, hip-hop groups, solo singers, belly dancers, and closing the event was a Bangladeshi dance group. With all of the performers, artists, and attendees, there was still no traffic problem. “In the past Artoberfest events, there were serious traffic problems… this year, keeping everyone in the ballroom went extremely well with no problems,” he mentioned. The Arts Commission also had an area set up for one of their ongoing projects called “Project Rudolph.” The Moreno Valley Cultural Art Foundation partnered up with a group in Idaho to make this project possible. The booth provided blank ornaments and art supplies so anyone could decorate an ornament however they’d like. Then, the decorated ornaments are collected and shipped to Idaho to be sent overseas to U.S. troops. At Artoerfest, about 100 ornaments decorated by various community members were collected. Archer added, “We had a great amount of support from the Parks and Commission Services. We really had an excellent team of folks. City of Moreno Valley should be applauded for the work they put into this event.”