Arts & Entertainment

Farmington Depot Gallery Hosts 'Festifool'

See a variety of locally produced arts and crafts on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

A special event is taking place at the .  The two-day festival, known as 'Festifool' because it opened on April Fools' Day, features northeast Georgia artists. 

At you'll find a variety of artwork, such as folk art, pottery, stained glass and handcrafted jewelry.

But aside from homemade arts and crafts, there is a selection of vintage items, like June Johnston's doll collection, handed down by her mother.  She collected the dolls during her travels from the 1940s to the early 1990s, family friend Kathleen McQuiston said.

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About one-third of the collection is for sale at a tent at Festifool, and includes unique dolls from Central America, Mexico, and Japan, just to name a few.

Curtis Yaun came to sell a variety of locally grown herbs and sea salts.

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"I saw the sign advertising Festifool and thought it sounded like a neat idea," he said.

Attendees can also grab a bite to eat. The is serving up a light fare.

In addition, there are activities for kids, like hayrides.  Several four-legged friends romped merrily around the property as well on Friday.

"We want it to be a success for the (vendors), but we're mainly focused on everyone having fun, " said John Cleaveland, one of 16 artists who run the co-op. "We're pretty social.  It's kind of like a party. It's an excuse to be around one another."

Day two's festivities get underway at 10 a.m. and will last until 6 p.m.

Another artist, Peter Loose, said it's only the second time that the Farmington Depot Gallery has held a festival since its opening last fall, but he and others hope to hold similar gatherings at least four times a year, along with other events.

One such idea is to host a folk art gallery, "for the public and Oconee to see something different," said Loose. 

The artists would like to hold workshops for kids, too, he added.

"We're pretty much 100 percent open to anything," Loose said.

Farmington Depot Gallery is open from noon until 6 p.m. on Wednesdays through Sundays, but the owners hope to expand those hours in the near future, he said.


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