The Downtown Issaquah Association (DIA) will host its annual Issaquah Goes Apples fair on Oct. 19 at the Historic Shell Station from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and submissions are now open for the event’s Apple Art Competition.
Applicants have until the 5 p.m. deadline on Oct. 12 to submit photos of their apple themed artwork to issaquahgoesapples@gmail.com. Anyone is welcome to enter from anywhere in the world, and attending the event is free.
Those who live in the area must also turn in their physical piece to the Shell Station on Thursday, Oct. 17, so it can be hung up on Friday. It must include a hook or a wire so it can be displayed on the wall and not exceed 10-by-12 inches. All submissions will be displayed.
Artwork must include at least one apple or an apple theme and be in 2D format. Acceptable media include paint, watercolor, charcoal, crayon, pastel, pencil and photography. Applicants need to submit their full name, age, phone number, email and a description with their art.
A group of local artists will judge the submissions and winners will be announced during the fair event at a meet-the-artist reception. Artists can win a number of different prizes sponsored by downtown businesses including Art by Fire and Ekta Gupta Studios.
Ekta Gupta, local artist and DIA board member, is in charge of overseeing art components of DIA events, including the Apple Art Competition. She said the fair event started four years ago and continues to grow each year with more vendors and more activities.
“We wanted to bring in local vendors including farmers and artists to put up their wares at the Shell station,” Gupta said. “The theme is apples to celebrate the largest crop in Washington as well as the harvest season, and fall, and Issaquah.”
The fair is also the kick off event for Farm Fresh Markets, a pop-up produce and merchant vendor market that runs each Saturday until Thanksgiving, giving farmers more opportunities to sell their harvest after the summer farmers’ market is over.
Other activities at the fair will include seasonal photo opportunities, an old-fashioned apple cider press, live music, apple inspired food, a blown glass pumpkin patch created by Issaquah Glass Blowers, and a scarecrow competition where people can go around town and vote for their favorite scarecrows on display.
Gupta said organizers anticipate some 60 participants in the art competition, but they hope to welcome many more. “I love teaching, I love creating,” she said.
A submission from a previous year’s Apple Art competition held annually by the Downtown Issaquah Association. The submission deadline for this year’s contest is Oct. 12. Courtesy of Ekta Gupta.
