September is an exciting month at the Butler County Arts Guild! Get ready to unleash your creativity and let your imagination go wild at the 8th Annual West Ohio Street Chalk Art Festival! We’re taking it to the streets on Saturday, September 7 in lovely, uptown Morgantown. This free, fun-filled, family-friendly festival takes place at 115 W. Ohio Street, kicks off at 10am and will wrap up at 2pm. It promises to be a day full of color, creativity and celebrating the spirit of community!
Folks of all ages will transform the pavement into vibrant masterpieces. We’ll have free chalk on hand, so you can try your hand at creating your own colorful designs. (Feel free to bring your own chalk, but no spray chalk, please.) We’ll have activities and games for all ages, free sweet treats, free face painting, and a balloon artist on hand. The Butler County Public Library is hosting old-fashioned activities like jump rope, hopscotch and more. We’re also having a petting zoo, courtesy of Rosy Creek Farmstead.
This year, your kids will have a chance to win some cash for their efforts! We’re pleased to announce the return of our Chalk Art Contest, with cash prizes for three age divisions of school kids. Pre-registration is recommended by using the convenient QR code below; however, we’ll also take registrations the day of the festival. For any questions, message our Facebook page.
No festival is complete without music, and we’ve got you covered! We’re honored to present Nanseera and Bella as our special music guests. Nanseera is a London-born, Nashville-based singer and songwriter. She has performed on three continents, and you’ll get to hear her right here in your own backyard. She has an active inner child who loves to sing, dance and play, and she’ll be sharing the power of music and story with everyone.
Bella is a 16-year-old talented singer and songwriter from nearby Simpson County. She won first place in the 2023-24 Barren River FFA singing contest. She performed at our June Jamboree, and we loved her so much we brought her back! (By the way, our next Butler County Arts Guild Jamboree is October 11; see more info in this ad.) Nanseera and Bella will be sharing their talents and will encourage crowd participation. What an opportunity to hear such top-notch artists!
Speaking of music, September 28 is our next WoodSongs Music Coffeehouse! This series is partnered with the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, created and hosted by folksinger Michael Johnathon, which is broadcast around the world. We host these performances once a quarter, and admission is free. The Jacob Clark Band is our featured artist for our September show. This popular local band, representing South Central Kentucky, Western Kentucky and Northern Tennessee, ignites the 1990s flame all over again. They’re the perfect representation of anyone who ever wanted to blend classic rock with the 1990s country music loved by many. The show takes place at the Eva J. Hawes Center in Morgantown, beginning at 7pm; doors open at 6:30pm. Concessions are available and admission is free. Mark your calendars now!
A bit about us: The Butler County Arts Guild formed in 2013 and has been a force for good in the community ever since. We’ve won numerous awards, including the prestigious Governor’s Awards in the Arts “Community Arts Organization of the Year.” Striving to better the lives of our fellow Kentuckians through art and with art, we offer painting, weaving, basket-making classes and more, many of them at no cost. We also host monthly art exhibits by local artists and run a gift shop filled with arts and crafts created by local people, and books written by local authors. We’re open every Thursday and Friday from 12 noon to 4pm and Saturday from 10am to 2pm. Monthly meetings are 6pm every last Tuesday of the month. Rapidly becoming a regional facility, we have many members and participants from the entire South Central Kentucky area because of our central location. We’re just a quick 18 miles north of Bowling Green, off I-165.
For more information about what we do, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/ButlerCountyArtsGuild; check out our website at butlerarts.org; email us at butlercoarts@gmail.com; or call/text us at 270-999-0834. Get to know us in person by attending our Chalk Art Festival on September 7; you’ll want to come back for our WoodSongs Music Coffeehouse on September 28, and more. We can’t wait to see you!
-submitted by Butler County Arts Guild
