Special activity will feature more than 100 crafters from around the country

May 31, 2017 ITHACA NY — Ithaca Festival, now celebrating its 40th year, is going to be bigger and better than ever as when takes over the streets of Downtown Ithaca from Friday, June 2 – Sunday, June 4, rain or shine.One of the best parts of this beloved arts festival is the art! The Ithaca Festival is honored to host over 100 craft vendors from all across the country who will be setting up beautiful booths to share their talents with you. Be sure to stop by all of the artist locations along the Commons and Cayuga Street to support handmade arts and crafts.

The craft show will be held from noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. To help set you on the best path to finding fabulous crafters, here are a handful of them that we think you’ll definitely want to check out!

Golden Hand Design:
Since 2012, Golden Hand has been offering some truly spectacular crocheted scarfs, hats, infant halters, and many other wears. Dream catchers are another popular item made by this crafter.
Golden Hand is featured on front cover of Billabong’s 2012 Spring and Summer catalogs, and one of the designer’s crocheted tops was worn in the Hollywood bowl production of Hair. View some of its products at https://www.etsy.com/shop/goldenhandsdesign.

Woos: This multi-award winning crafter has an amazing line of unique kitchen creations. Don’t miss out on their gourmet spreads, such as their best-selling Indian Spiced Beetroot made from fresh beets and a mix of slow-cooked Indian spices or the Sour Cherry Spiced Wine, a perfect spread for meats, and cheese. Also, check out their line of gourmet condiments, cheese pairings, dessert sauces, and more! Take a sneak peak at some of their delicious creations at https://www.wozzkitchencreations.com/

Firefly Henna: 
Want a creative, but not permanent, etching on your skin. Firefly Henna is the booth to stop at while your visiting Ithaca Festival. This Corning-based designer has multiple designs to choose from, including tribal art, suns, hearts, and floral designs. Some examples of these masterpieces are available at http://fireflyhenna.com/.

Mealy Monster Land: Nicole Johnson will be bringing her creepy, strange, weird and odd art dolls and creatures to the festival. These unusual creations will be a spooky edition to your Halloween or regular home decor.
Visit http://www.mealymonsterland.com/ for some samples of Johnson’s work.

Skelly Chic: More ghoulish crafts can be found at Skelly Chic’s booth. Skelly Chic combines their love of skeletons with an inherent need to live in color! This crafter works in a variety of media, and design, build, sculpt, paint and detail each skelly by hand from start to finish. She is continually inspired by Day of the Dead folk art, what she’s seen in nature, patterns of all kinds, and time spent
in the southwest. What emerges are one-of-a-kind, enchanting skellies that are ready to charm your soul! More details are available at http://www.skellychic.com/.

Whisker Biscuits: This isn’t your ordinary dog treat. Whisker Biscuits takes pet health seriously and creates pet treats and jerky that are nutritious for pets and their humans.
Request a Big Sack which includes Peanut Butter “Poo”, a 5-inch BBQ Chicken Pretzel, a boat of Chicken Jerky (dehydrated in house), a Pumpkin and Carob Swirl, four donuts: Peanut Butter, Pumpkin/Ginger, Cheddar Cheese and Chicken Pot Pie and four beer barley treats: Maple Glazed Bacon, Peanut Butter, Savory Cheese and Beef/Vegetable. Learn more about Whisker Biscuits at http://www.whiskerdogbiscuits.com/.

While this wraps up the Downtown Ithaca Alliance’s listing of some of the must see crafters, please make it a point to stop by as many booths and stores as possible. We’re certain you’ll find something you, your loved ones, or friends will enjoy!

For a full listing of crafters and additional festival information, visit www.Ithacafestival.org.

Parking will be available in all of the city’s parking garages. Since this is a special event, the City of Ithaca will be charging a $5.00 special event fee for parking in Seneca Street and Green Street garages on Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Also, All-Pro Parking will be charging a $5.00 fee in the Cayuga Garage.

The special event parking charge will be collected from 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Regular parking rates apply on Friday.

If you currently have a parking permit for those garages, you will be able to use it. And, in Green Street and Seneca Street garages, you can use token tickets, as well.

If you need any further information, please contact the City of Ithaca Parking Operations Department at (607) 220-3362.