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Four live stages
Dance ensembles, choirs, and folk bands from twelve visiting communities.
/Programs / Festival of the Arts
Festival
of the Arts
Three days, four stages, one long table. Our flagship celebration brings the whole alliance — and the whole city — together each autumn.
Join the communityA celebration of creativity and culture
The Festival of the Arts is where Kestrel Guild Alliance began — a weekend when master performers, first-time dancers, craft sellers, and hungry neighbors fill the old market square. Expect embroidered processions at noon, fiddle-led dances at dusk, and a shared feast under string lights to close each night.
Around 2,000 guests join us each year, and more than eighty guild artists perform, teach, or exhibit. Every stage is hosted, every workshop is hands-on, and every meal is cooked by guild families.
What’s included
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Craft marketplace
Sixty stalls of textiles, ceramics, instruments, and prints — all maker-priced.
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Open workshops
Drop-in sessions in dance steps, embroidery, bread-baking, and drumming.
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The long table
A nightly shared feast cooked by guild families. Bring an appetite.
How the weekend flows
- Fri
Opening procession & night market. Costumed parade at six, stalls and street food until late.
- Sat
Stages & workshops all day. Forty performances plus open craft circles for every age.
- Sun
Family day & long-table feast. Children’s program at noon, closing dance and dinner at dusk.
“The festival turned our square into a village. We came for an hour and stayed for three days.”
Daniel O. Festival Guest