Orchard Lake Fine Art Show set to return

WEST BLOOMFIELD — If history is any indication, thousands of people may be set to gather in West Bloomfield between Saturday, July 29, and Sunday, July 30.

Those are the scheduled dates for this year’s Orchard Lake Fine Art Show, and according to Patty Narozny, who is the founder and executive producer of Hot Works Fine Art & Craft Shows, this is the 20th year for the show in West Bloomfield.

It is scheduled to take place 10 a.m.-6 p.m. July 29 and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. July 30.

There is free parking for the show in the last, back half of the lot behind Beaumont Medical Center, located at 6900 Orchard Lake Road, and according to Narozny, “it’ll take people all the way up to the front of the show.”

Depending on the weather, Narozny estimated that the show typically draws between 5,000 and 10,000 people over the course of the weekends it is held.

She anticipates that there will be approximately 110 artists at the show.

“You’re going to see all work that is original and personally handmade by the artist in the show,” Narozny said. “It’s juried by art professionals who know what they’re doing, so we don’t mix the buy, sell, import in between all the artwork.”

Narozny shared what she considers to be one of the primary highlights of the show.

“We bring artists to Michigan that don’t do a lot of other Michigan shows because we work on this event throughout the year, in which we have shows in Florida during the wintertime,” she said. “As a result, I personally know about 7,000 of the art show artists, and that’s how we recruit a lot of artists to come to Michigan who don’t do other Michigan shows, is they work with us in our Florida shows.”

According to Narozny, the Orchard Lake Fine Art Show is “not just another art show,” as it has been voted in the top 100 art shows in the country 12 times.

Musical entertainment and food vendors are also slated to be part of the show.

However, Narozny understands what it is that draws so many to the show.

“The artwork is the focus of the show and the visual arts, so people can find something for everyone. … I want to point out too, in all forms of discipline and all price ranges. Discipline includes paintings, sculpture, clay, glass, fiber, jewelry, wood, digital photography, and then we have another category if they don’t fit into that.”

Aside from checking out the art on display, West Bloomfield Clerk Debbie Binder assists with various aspects of the show.

“I think it’s become a fixture in West Bloomfield that we really enjoy,” Binder said. “It’s such a nice community event.”

Especially since the onset of COVID-19, Binder thinks the Orchard Lake Fine Art Show represents a “great” opportunity to get outside.

“It’s a fun, all-family event, and it’s a nice place to walk around and see pretty things and to engage with the community and engage with art,” she said.

West Bloomfield Supervisor Steven Kaplan also weighed in on the Orchard Lake Fine Art Show.

“There’s an excitement that emanates from this event because you have a large crowd of West Bloomfield residents and non-residents, having an opportunity to meet with the artists,” he said.

Aside from the opportunity to see and buy fine art, from Kaplan’s perspective, there is something else that the show offers.

“It does add excitement to the community,” he said. “The camaraderie that flows from friends attending together is incalculable.”

For Narozny, one of the best parts of the show is getting feedback from attendees.

“During the event, some way, somehow, patrons track me down personally and give me tons of compliments,” she said. “That’s what I love best, besides creating jobs for artists so that they can earn a living creating their personal and handmade art.”

According to Narozny, the show also supports youth art.

“The youth art program is a program integrated within the show to expose students in grades K-8, or ages 5 to 13, to the rules and entrepreneurship opportunity of doing art shows for a living,” she said. “To date, we’ve exposed more than 4,500 students to the entrepreneurship of doing art shows for a living.”

There is a $5 admission fee to attend, with those 13 and younger admitted for free.

According to Narozny, patrons receive either a ticket or wristband, which they can bring back to the show if they leave and then come back.

Narozny shared her favorite part of the show.

“I love dealing with the art and the art world,” she said. “And then when you have the show and get approached by patrons who appreciate the great event we bring to the community, that’s what it’s about.”