The fall season brings changing leaves and cooler temperatures to Chapel Hill, and with the fall weather a myriad of events crop up during this time throughout the town.
One such event, Festifall Arts Market: Carolina Day, hosts a variety of local vendors, artists, and musicians on Franklin Street for visitors and students to check out.
Carolina Day took place on Saturday, Oct. 26 from 12-5 pm. A warm and sunny day set the scene for the festival, and the vibrant booths, crowds of people and live music could be heard all down Franklin Street.
Festifall was hosted by Chapel Hill Community Arts and Culture, a division of the town with a mission to “inspire creativity and celebrate community for a better Chapel Hill.”
Many booths at Festifall were run by local artists such as Anna Myers, a Durham-based printmaker who sells home goods, decorations and bags through her business Little Dog Print Shop.
“I hope that people find an appreciation for the handmade," Myers said. "All my work is pretty unique and labor intensive. So, it's fun when people kind of can appreciate that and also connect with one of the animals or plants that I've carved and printed.”
Festifall also helps people engage with the arts by providing free access to the event, allowing visitors to easily browse and interact with the works. One of these opportunities was found at the SVG Ceramics booth where Sarah Gruber, a retired educator turned potter, had a display of her works and a sign encouraging people to touch the pieces.
“That's the other thing about my work, is it's about emotion, it's about feeling, it's a way to talk that cuts across everything, cuts across all boundaries," Gruber said. "It's fun, and it can also introduce people to the world of art when they haven't really done it.”
