PorchFest hits Forest Hill

Julie Smith/News Tribune May 2018 File PhotoAttendees were able to enjoy several different musical acts and a variety of activities during the first Porchfest in May of 2018. PorchFest will be held again Oct. 6.
Julie Smith/News Tribune May 2018 File PhotoAttendees were able to enjoy several different musical acts and a variety of activities during the first Porchfest in May of 2018. PorchFest will be held again Oct. 6.

After a rained out event last fall, PorchFest JCMO will finally be able to fill the crisp autumn air with live music, arts and entertainment Sunday.

PorchFest will host its third music and arts festival 1-4 p.m. Sunday on Forest Hill Avenue. This is the second year organizers have put together the festival and the first time the festival will play in the Forest Hill neighborhood.

Cultural Arts Specialist Leann Porrello, with Jefferson City Parks, Recreation & Forestry, said the event is all about bringing "awareness to different revitalization areas."

Even though Forest Hill Avenue has already gone through a bout of revitalization, Porrello said attendees should see "both sides" of the process. Last year's inaugural PorchFest was on Capitol Avenue as it was undergoing a "face lift" with new light poles, trees and sidewalks, she said.

The event itself is centered around local music, art and hospitality, where the community can come together to share their love for the crafts.

"Whatever neighborhood we do it in it's about just bringing people together and actually meeting your neighbors," Porrello said. "(The porch hosts) are putting chairs out, inviting them to use their porch and that's a big thing with the hospitality side."

During Sunday's event, attendees can listen to music on more porches than before - 11, to be exact. Musicians playing on porches opened up by residents will cycle through in one-hour sets with a total of roughly 30 performers spanning the street. Porches will be open from houses 105-125 along Forest Hill Avenue. Musicians performing include Zak Skinner, Rose Ridge and Mistaken Creek Revival.

In conjunction with the musical talent, visual artists will be staged along the street doing live art. Watercolor artist Lina Forrester and acrylic artist Brandon Province will be two of the numerous artists attending. Porrello said the visual artists are not limited to the one-hour time slots, and most of them have opted to paint all day.

PorchFest is also family friendly. Children's activities include a coloring station, shirt-weaving and tie-dye stations, face painting, yard games and balloon animals.

Adults can join in on the coloring fun, too, Porrello said.

"Art is for everyone," she said. "The whole family really has a great time."

Besides food vendors like Love My Gelato and La Chica Loca, the event will be strictly vendor-free. Porrello said she wants people to be "engaged with the art that's there."

"If there's a lot of vendors, people are mainly engaged in the vendors and shopping and not actually experiencing the art," she said.

Porrello also encouraged attendees to bring cash for tips. Last year, PorchFest was able to compensate the volunteer artists through donations, and they hope to do so again. Anyone who wishes to make a donation this year can speak to organizers at the event.

Other tips for hopeful attendees? Bring a chair, your family and sunscreen, Porrello said. Sunday's forecast calls for partly sunny skies and a high near 70 - the event isn't likely to get rained out this time.

Parking for the event is available at Memorial Park or on neighboring streets. The event is free and open to the public.