There’s something for everyone – quality art and crafts from more than 400 exhibitors, the beautiful weather of Buffalo in June, the unique charm of Allentown, or even just the food.  The 54th Annual Allentown Art Festival is sure to have something to interest you.  Tens of thousands of art patrons flock to the Allentown Historic Preservation District every year for this wildly popular festival.

The festival gives cash awards for the artists, including Best of Show, the Mentholatum Purchase Award, and Poster Winners.  Other awards are given for paintings, drawings and graphics, sculpture, photography, mixed media, clay, and many more.  For the 2006 festival, the festival ended up giving out awards amounting to $21,275 in cash.  And the generosity doesn’t stop there; the festival also awarded $20,000 in art scholarships and support to help students from Erie County High School attend the New York State Summer School for the Arts.  To ensure future art scholarships, the festival also donates ten percent of its profit each year to the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.

For such a huge festival, the organization overseeing everything is small but dedicated.  The Allentown Village Society, Inc. is a volunteer-based not-for-profit organization with only about 25 regular working members.  Their membership has rarely gone above 30, yet they still put together this great festival every year.

Make sure you don’t miss this year’s festival on June 11 and 12 on Allentown’s Delaware Avenue.  It’s sure to draw a huge crowd.  And if you want to get involved, check out the poster contest or apply as an artist or food vendor online.