To commemorate National Art Day, the Hillsborough Farmers Market will be holding its own day of appreciation for local artistic talent on Saturday, Oct. 26.
The event will take place at the UNC Hospitals Hillsborough Campus from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. More than 50 artists of various different mediums from ceramicists to chefs will be showcased.
Rebekah Appleton, assistant market manager, said most of the artists involved in the event are from the Triangle, however, artists from all over North Carolina were encouraged to attend.
“The event is a day appreciating our local artists," Appleton said. "Everything at the market is local, so we do require that all the artists who come made their own product and that their product is sourced from within North Carolina.”
The market typically requires that a majority of the vendors participating are food-related, however, this day is an exception, Appleton said.
“We usually don’t have a lot of artists at the market, so this is kind of a way to let them come out and showcase their stuff, which we normally wouldn’t be able to do,” Appleton said.
Appleton said that she and the other event planners were lenient in defining what they considered art when enrolling artists. Because of this, some of the talent includes dance crews, painters and culinary artists.
Although there are many places to showcase art around the country, presenting your own art to your local community is much more powerful, said Michelle Johnson, a participating photographer.
“I’ve become so big on buying local because it actually does make a difference in the community,” Johnson said. “It makes a huge difference to support your local candlemaker or your local photographer, because $20 in their hand helps them. You’re going to make a tangible difference to a local, North Carolina citizen by buying their product.”
