Bluegrass, Open Studios, Festivals and more

We have been living in Oil City permanently for a little over two months now and I LOVE IT here!!

Last weekend, Oil City hosted the 3rd Annual Oil Country Bluegrass Music Festival.
3 days of great bluegrass featuring local and regional musicians. The festival was a benefit for the Venango County United Way and the Oil City Arts Council and was a great success.

During the Festival, the Artists had Open Studios and we were pleasantly suprised that we had a good amount of visitors. Thanks to the students and other volunteers who helped get the folks from the hotel to the Transit Art Studios. It was great that the Trolley was running and I believe a good amount of people used it, but many more walked, because we had a break from the snow and cloudy skies. It was a bright, sunny day!

I have joined some committees. The Oil City North Side Business Association (NSBA) and the Venango Chamber of Commerce Art and Fine Craft Festival. I also hope to help out with First Night.

The best news is that I expanded my studio space to accomodate the new services that I am offering. Giclee and Photoshop services for the artist who wishes to offer their paintings as Fine Art Prints; business cards; portfolio books; stock photos; cd covers; brochures; graphic design...All in addition to my own Fine Art Print sales and gifts that are available in Studio 21.

Here is a link to a great article written by one of the artists in Oil City. Art Calendar Magazine.

Sorry this isn't timely, but....

My husband, Andrew and I went out to Oil City for 2 weeks at Christmas and New Years. We had a great time. We were lucky enough to have a day or two that actually hit 60 degrees! So, we took a break from the renovations and went to Oil Creek State Park.

We checked out the trails and the railroad that goes from the park to Titusville (it wasn't operating), but looks like it would be a great trip.

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/oilcreek.aspx
Titusville has a lot of great old Victorian homes there as well. Very nice town. But from what I hear, Titusville gets more Lake Effect snow than Oil City.

http://www.titusvillepa.com/

We also went to the Two Mile Run County Park. That is a great park. It has a campground there, so anyone who wants to come out for a visit, but prefers to camp, that would be the place!

http://www.oilregion.org/Tourism/Recreation-Opportunities

The next day we went to Cook Forest! Wow, what a great place that is!

"Cook Forest State Park--The 8,500-acre Cook Forest State Park lies in scenic northwestern Pennsylvania. Once called the "Black Forest," the area is famous for its stands of old growth forest. Cook Forest's "Forest Cathedral" of towering white pines and hemlocks is a National Natural Landmark. The Clarion River is along the eastern border of the park and is popular for canoeing and rafting."

http://www.cookforest.com/