Introduction
Almost exactly three years ago, I decided to start a photography career. It had been a dream of mine for a long time to be a fine art photographer and since I retired from my previous career, I now had time to do so. But how would I get started?
I heard about and subsequently applied for the Art in Kayenta festival in 2022. My application was late, but they kindly put me on the waiting list anyway and a spot opened up a few weeks before the festival. I was so happy to be going to my first art festival as a vendor. It went well, at least for a newbie, and I went home encouraged.
Fast forward to today, I just completed my fifth and last art festival of 2025. This year I have traveled from St. George to Salt Lake City, and even Vail, Colorado. I really feel my journey and my art have grown tremendously over the past three years, and I look forward to what will come in the future.
This blog post is a retrospective about these five art festivals I participated in this year.
St. George Art Festival
First up, was the St. George Art Festival. This is the second year I have done this festival and both times were wonderful. One of the best things about participating in these festivals is the interaction with the people you meet. It is so fun to tell stories about the photos I’m selling and in return hear stories from other people about their travels.
This year, I was so happy to have received the award of 1st place in photography for my Ice Flowers photo. I had only just recently returned from a photo trip during February to Banff National Park where I had taken this photo and only just had time to get it printed prior to this festival.
The festival went very well, and I hope to return next year.
Utah Arts Festival
The Utah Arts Festival is one of the premier festivals in Utah and very difficult to get into. This was my first time attending this festival and I was so proud to have been accepted into it. I have traveled to art festivals before but always had difficulty carrying everything I need to bring. So, this time, I rented a U-Haul trailer. It worked so well that I plan to do this all the time from now on.
This festival was held in downtown Salt Lake City in the Library Square. It was quite an impressive place and I had a prime location right next to the Salt Lake City and County building, a victorian-era city hall noted for its iconic 256-foot clock tower & carved gray sandstone facade.
Ogden Arts Festival
One month after the Utah Arts Festival, I was back up in northern Utah for the Ogden Arts Festival. It was a busy summer. This festival was held at the Union Station, an historic 1920s train station converted to an indoor marketplace with museums, art gallery, and eatery.
At this festival, there were some very tall people. They even came to my booth, and I must say, they were the tallest customers ever to visit my booth. I was quite awe-struck.
Visitors to the festival were also treated to performances, including an aerial acrobatic performance. Too bad I had no idea this was going on behind me for almost an hour. I just thought it was a band playing, so I only realized shortly before it ended. Sorry for the not so exciting photo of the action.
Artisan Rhapsody Vail
The Artisan Rhapsody in Vail, Colorado, fell into my lap quite unexpectedly. This was the first ever such event in Vail and I didn’t find it. Instead, the organizer found me through my website and invited me to apply. Well, how could I turn down an opportunity to go to Vail in Autumn? So, after a quick phone call just to be sure the email and the festival were real, I applied and was accepted.
It was a marvelous drive going to Vail from St. George, even if it did take me 10 hours pulling the trailer the whole way. The Aspens were already in gorgeous fall colors as you can see in the photos below.
There was a wonderful VIP opening reception, called “Under the Nordic Lights” in the afternoon on the first day where all the artists displayed one or two pieces and everyone was treated to wine and live music. It was really well done. In fact, I have never experienced anything like it at traditional art festivals.
Another notable point distinguishing this event from others was the quality of the “food trucks”. I put it in quotes because I have never experienced such wonderful food from food trucks before. I especially liked the Sashimi from Sushi Torakku. The owner, Cody Foster, is a real Sushi chef. The fish was very fresh, and it really was the best Sushi I have had since moving away from the Bay Area.
Since I was stuck in my booth the whole time, I didn’t have a chance to explore Vail and see the fall color or explore the mountains. But my wife had a chance to take the gondola up and got some great views from above. The photo below is one of her shots from on top really showing the true colors in all their splendor. She even put together a wonderful short video about it. You can watch the video and read about the event from her perspective on her blog post. Click here: Rhapsody in Yellow.
Art in Kayenta
My last, but not least, festival this year was the Art in Kayenta festival in Ivins, Utah. As I mentioned in the introduction, this is the first festival I ever did in 2022, and I am so proud to have attended every year since. I knew this was going to be a great festival when, at the very start, we were greeted by a Golden Eagle flying overhead.
The weather forecast had called for large chance of rain during the first two days of the festival. Instead, all three days turned out to actually be quite nice. During the night, there was heavy rain and wind, but everything held together. Back at home, during the night, a frog even came to hang out on our window, possibly to escape the heavy rain. But whatever the reason, it was nice to see.
Arrowhead Gallery
While not an art festival, this still represents part of my growth as an artist. At the beginning of the year, I joined the Arrowhead Gallery, run by the Southern Utah Art Guild, located next to the Electric Theater in downtown St. George. This is a juried co-op gallery.
I am excited to say that I will be the featured artist at the gallery for the month of November, I am very much looking forward to it.
Conclusion
But most important of all, are my customers. Without you I could not have come this far in my journey. And I want to give a big thank you to all the people who have purchased my photos, and to everyone who has visited my booth and enjoyed my photography over the past three years. You are very much appreciated!
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