arts & life

f ai rs

’Tis The

Season

Outdoor art fairs kick off this month.

Photographer Alanna St. Laurent focuses on abandoned photography, architecture and
Detroit — like this image of the Fountain at Belle Isle Park. Visit her at the Belle Isle Art
Fair, as well as many of the other fairs listed here.

Suzanne Chessler | Contributing Writer

A

new event — the Belle Isle
Art Fair — is being intro-
duced Aug. 6-7 to add to
the long list of outdoor opportuni-
ties to experience art, entertain-
ment and culinary treats through-
out the warm-weather months.
The fair, being heralded for
“quiet delights,” will offer work by
some 100 juried artists showcasing
their designs in special setups next
to the Scott Fountain.
“This is one of the most beauti-
ful locations you can imagine to
view artwork — or the city sky-
line,” says Mark Loeb, event coordi-
nator. “We’re so thrilled to be part
of the city’s creative comeback.”
Art fair patrons have come
to expect opening their brows-
ing and buying season with Art
Birmingham, which runs May 7-8

in Shain Park. Two Jewish artists
will bring some unique pieces this
year: Israeli Ben-Zion David, who
specializes in detailed and intricate
Jewish Yemenite metal work, and
James Wilbat of Chicago, who will
bring hand-blown glass including
Judaica pieces.
While the fairs listed below offer
a variety of experiences, each has
special features. Our list calls atten-
tion to some of those with remind-
ers to check for changes in details
as the dates get closer.

May 7-8: Art Birmingham,
Shain Park. (734) 662-3382;
theguild.org. Downtown shopping
and dining.
May 14-15: Palmer Park
Art Fair, Northwest Detroit.
Palmerparkartfair.com.

May 20-22: East Lansing Art
Festival, downtown East Lansing.
(517) 319-6804; elartfest.com.
Heartland Klezmorim entertaining.
June 3-5: Grand Rapids Festival
of the Arts, downtown Grand
Rapids. (616) 459-1300; festivalgr.
org. Poetry and story presentations.
June 4-5: Art on the Grand,
downtown Farmington. (248) 473-
7276; downtownfarmington.org.
Sidewalk shopping.
June 11: Berkley Art Bash, 12
Mile in downtown Berkley. (248)
414-7222; berkleyartbash.com.
Nonprofit promotions.
June 11-12: Clay, Glass and
Metal Show, Washington Ave.
between 4th Street and Lincoln
in downtown Royal Oak. (248)
547-4000; integrityshows.wix.com.
Community mosaic.

June 11-12: East Side Art Show,
Adult & Community Education, St.
Clair Shores. Eastsideartshow.com.
Guest voting on artwork.
June 16-18: Canton Liberty
Fest, Heritage Park. (734) 394-
5460; cantonlibertyfest.com.
Fireworks.
June 17-19: Arts and Acts,
downtown Northville. (248) 344-
0497; downtownnorthville.com.
Sandbox Play Festival.
June 17-19: Belleville National
Strawberry Festival, multiple loca-
tions. (313) 383-8920;
nationalstrawberryfest.com.
Carnival rides and games.
June 18: Michigan First
Summer in the Village, Lathrup
Village. (248) 557-2600, ext. 224;
summerinthevillage.com. Face
painting.

Scarbough Fair

Suzanne Chessler | Contributing Writer

R

on Scarbough grew up observing Catholicism
but came to feel a closer bonding with Judaism.
He was impressed with the faith of friendly neighbors
and kind fellow servicemen he knew in Mississippi
during the 1960s.
Although Scarbough did not convert, he made a
point of studying the tenets of Judaism and the his-
torical experiences of the Jewish people.
Born and raised in Detroit, where he continues to
live, Scarbough found a means of emotional expres-
sion through pencil drawings, some in color and oth-
ers in black and white. He showed his representational
talents long before studying technique.
His work, sold at shows and galleries, came to reflect his
spiritual connections as depicted through people — and will
be included in this year’s Palmer Park Art Fair, running May
14-15. Besides taking responsibility for the poster publiciz-
ing the fair, he will be including works from his “Children of
the Shoah” series as well as works that reflect his African-
American heritage.
“My pictures always are people in certain situations,” says
Scarbough, who works out of a home studio in Northwest

50 May 5 • 2016

Detroit. “I relate to children, and my first drawing was of
TV puppet Howdy Doody. After my teacher saw that, she
encouraged me to participate in an afterschool program for
gifted children.”
With a perspective on Jewish history, “Home” illustrates
a boy arriving at his former front door after being in a con-
centration camp, and “Survivor” shows a young person in a
hospital after World War II. Moving into African-American his-
tory, “Stairwell” is from Scarbough’s series examining the time
between the end of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement.
Taking a more light-hearted approach, “Bicycle” is a new

June 24-25: SOBO Arts Festival,
downtown Boyne City. (231)
582-9009; Sobosartsfestival.com.
Healing arts.
June 24-26: Trenton Summer
Festival, downtown Trenton. (734)
675-7300; trentonmi.org. Sporting
tournaments.
June 25: Traverse City Wine
& Art Festival, Village at Grand
Traverse Commons. (231) 642-
5550; traversecitywinefestival.com.
Tasting tours.
June 30-July 3: Stars & Stripes
Festival, Freedom Hill County
Park, Sterling Heights. (586) 493-
4344; starsandstripesfest.com.
Petting zoo.
July 1-2: Lakeshore Art Festival,
downtown Muskegon. (231) 722-
3751; lakeshoreartfestival.org.
Street performers.

drawing celebrating the current bicycle culture in
the city.
“I like to encourage children to read so I decid-
ed to include a child reading near the park foun-
tain for this year’s poster,” says Scarbough, 70, who
also drew the fair poster in 1977, then showing
children playing.
Scarbough, who attended the Art School of the
Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts (now the College
for Creative Studies), has taught studio drawing at
the Detroit Institute of Arts. Early on, he served as
a technical illustrator for the Air Force, developing
pictures for books and manuals, and worked at a
commercial art studio while drawing on his own
time.
The Detroit Artists Market has displayed his
drawings, and he has been present as his draw-
ings became available at art fairs around the state.
He has been awarded a gold medal during each of three
years showing work at the National Veterans Creative Arts
Festival.
Recent projects have been on view at Sherwood Forest
Art Gallery in Detroit,
“Drawing always has been an important way of com-
municating for me,” says Scarbough, who has attended
services at the Downtown Synagogue. “I want to do more
and more.”

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