Art, Food, Music All Part of Annual Art Fair in the Gardens

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- There will be a record number of vendors this year for the annual Art Fair in the Gardens.

The 17th annual event at Munsinger and Clemens Gardens is Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Art Fair Coordinator Jill Florek they have 60 art vendors signed up this year.

You are going to see things such as pottery, jewelry, stained glass, wood carving, wood turning, and paintings from oils to water colors.

Florek says they have a variety of food trucks coming from coffee, to energy bowls, to ice cream and more.

This year and last year we actually closed off the street, so we could get food trucks. More and more people are not selling in tents, they have trucks. In order for those to be in the gardens they have to be on a path or a road.

Riverside Drive will be closed between the upper and lower levels of the gardens.

For live music David Dvorak will perform at 11:00 a.m., Leon Laudenbach starts playing at 1:30 p.m., and Harper's Chord is on at 4:30 p.m

The Stearns History Museum is also doing a History Hunt in the gardens this Thursday, where you can learn about the history of these nationally-known historic landscapes. To sign up for the free self-guided History Hunt Challenge look for the tent near the Gift Shop.

Florek says the Art Fair is the biggest event of the year for the gardens.

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They also have Music in the Gardens again coming up this Sunday with the annual Butterfly Release for Quiet Oaks Hospice House, which usually gets a very large turnout.

Florek says it has been a very busy year for tourists visiting the gardens, especially over the 4th of July Holiday weekend from Friday night through Tuesday.

Florek says the gardens are doing well despite the dry summer. She says the staff is busy deadheading and weeding to get ready for the Art Fair.