Early registration for the 2023 Art in the Arboretum show and sale are now open. Artists can register to showcase their work for $35 through Monday, Aug. 21, with a $45 late registration available for about another two weeks thereafter.
This year’s festival will launch with a preview party called “Sip, Savor, and Shop” on Friday, October 13, with special raffle items for members of Friends of the Arboretum, sponsors, and special guests. The event will be open to the public Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 14-15.
"Returning to the traditional October date offers a beautiful fall setting and fills a vacancy in Wilmington’s Artisan markets, allowing for more daylight on Friday evening during the Sip, Savor, and Shop event," said show director Bradley Carter. "In 2022, we restructured the layout to spread individual artists’ booths across the seven-acre gardens, a format that has been expanded for 2023. This year, there will be nearly 80 booths on the grounds, including 20 new spaces inside the Greenhouse Gallery and Education Center Gallery."
The festival will feature music from El Jaye Johnson during Friday night’s opening, with many other local musicians filling the air throughout the weekend. Local food trucks 2 Bros Coastal Cuisine and Angel's Tacos will be selling dishes to keep visitors' stomachs full and happy all weekend.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the New Hanover County Cooperative Extension, Wilmington Arts Association, and Friends of the Arboretum.
The prospectus and registration are now available online at www.ArtintheArboretum.org or by emailing Bradley Carter at bcarter.arboretum@gmail.com for more information on artist registration and business sponsorship opportunities.
The Arboretum, 6206 Oleander Drive in Wilmington, is the botanical jewel of southeastern North Carolina, with seven acres of splendor open, for free, to the public. And through its affiliation with North Carolina State University and that university’s Cooperative Extension Service outreach, Arboretum staffers offer a multitude of services, including soil testing and plant disease and pest triage.