There's only one place to be when the sun begins to peek through Spokane's springtime cloud cover: Manito Park.
At least, that's what Kelly Brown thinks. Having moved to Spokane from Phoenix in 2015, Brown was quickly enamored with the 90-acre park on Spokane's lower South Hill.
"In Phoenix, it's just like, 'Wow, that Home Depot sure looks great!'" Brown says. "But here, in Manito, it's a whole new world."
In an attempt to acclimate to her new community, Brown reached out to the Friends of Manito her first year here in search of volunteer opportunities and eventually became a board member. During one of her first meetings on the board, Brown heard talk of creating an art festival in the park, so she jumped in as its organizer.
Brown immediately began navigating the ins and outs of creating an art festival. After learning that artists tend to schedule themselves out months in advance with little to no wiggle room most Saturdays, Brown tried to make the festival happen in 2020, but the pandemic got in the way.
Finally, in 2021, the Manito Park Art Festival celebrated its inaugural event. This year, the Manito Art Festival takes place on Saturday, June 10, and features more than 100 art vendors. But this isn't your typical, run-of-the-mill art festival.
Sure, you'll see the familiar faces of well-known Spokane artists and makers — Chris Bovey, Reinaldo Gil Zambrano (RGZprints) and LR Montgomery — but Brown says that the Manito Park Art Festival also aims to foster creativity and awareness of up-and-coming artists.
The festival sees about 5,000 patrons over the course of the day — some come to Manito just for the art festival, while others are just passing through. Brown says that's the beauty of the festival: stumbling upon something unexpected and magical.
"The reason we like to tailor this festival toward emerging artists is so they have a chance to share their work amidst Spokane's huge art scene," Brown says. "Art is so important to our culture, and specifically in Spokane with the emphasis that we put on it. It's just this perfect marriage of art, community, beauty and nature. It's the happiest day."
Back in 2019, when Brown was still figuring out how to get the Manito Park Art Festival started, she got in contact with myriad artists in the area, one of whom was Spokane oil painter Neicy Frey.
"I can't remember if Kelly reached out to me, or if I reached out to her," Frey says. "I knew I wanted to be a part of the festival the second I heard it was in the works."
Like most Spokanites, Frey has childhood memories of feeding the ducks at Manito's pond and sledding down its many hills in winter. Her grandfather, Art Frey, was Manito's park director for many years.
Frey's journey as an artist has been nurtured while living in Spokane, having moved back to the area after spending most of her early adolescence in India and Malaysia.
"Spokane has been a great place for me to learn how to paint and develop my work while raising my two kids," she says. "My kids have helped me with my previous Manito art shows and, this year, my son, Boaz, is manning the booth next door to mine, Cutees Printshop, a new creative project we've been working on together."
Frey has participated in the festival since its inaugural year and sees it as a chance to connect with her patrons in person as well as to meet new art collectors.
"Kelly and her team have curated a great group of artists, artisans and vendors that make it a lively and family-friendly event," she says. "I love the size of the festival, too, it feels quaint and neighborly. All of these things make it easy to keep saying yes. Manito is such a treasure."
While not everyone has the same view of Manito Park as Brown or the festival's participating artists, Brown hopes the event shows that anyone — not just residents of the surrounding historic neighborhood — are welcome there.
"[Manito] is our jewel," she says. "It's not just a South Hill park. It's not a 'rich person' park. It's a regional destination. I'm proud that we're bringing art and culture here and sharing this place with the community. I'm so thankful to all of the artists that took a chance on a new event."
Along with plenty of art available for purchase, the Manito Park Art Festival also features kids' activities, flower displays from the Botanical Alchemists, activities funded by a grant from Spokane Arts and live music.
In 2021, the festival had one musician who performed all day. At this year's event, multiple musicians perform on a rotating schedule, ensuring the event showcases even more creative endeavors.
The festival's future, Brown says, doesn't need to be extravagant.
"I think it's parallel with Manito Park," she says. "It's timeless. It's special. It's classic. It's beautiful, but it's quiet. It doesn't need to become Disneyland. My hope is that we continue to bring in new artists and new people wanting to find a space in the art world. I think it should stay special, just the way it is." ♦
Manito Park Art Festival • Sat, June 10 from 10 am-6 pm • Free • All ages • Manito Park, Duncan Garden's east lawn • 1702 E. Grand Blvd. • thefriendsofmanito.org
