The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition - Thursday, September 6, 1990 - Page 13 '\ Art fair draws artists, students back to A2 by Jennifer Armstrong Daily NSE Contributor Where can you find more people, exhibits, events, food, music and fun than you've ever imagined jammed into four days? Bet you didn't know it's all here in Ann Ar- bor's the art fair. The art fair is a long-standing tradition in Ann Arbor. This year's celebration will mark the event's 31st season. Every year, more than 400,000 people jam the streets (and parking spaces) of Ann Arbor, the third week in July, to attend the event. Artists from across the country arrive to sell their art - anything from paintings to pottery, wood carvings to wear- able art. Many students home for the summer come back to Ann Arbor to see friends and attend parties planned for the weekend. "It's the best weekend of the summer," said LSA senior Darby Miller. "It's a four day party." The art fair has something for ev- eryone. For the hungry, there's a potpourri of cuisines to choose from, for those seeking entertain- ment there are live musical and the- atrical shows daily. The fair even boasts special children's activities. And, of course, there's plenty of art to go around. The art fair actually consists of three separate art fairs. The oldest fair is held on South University and East University. The other fairs are held in the State Street area and on Main Street. In order to participate in the fair, artists pay a booth fee of $150, plus a 4% commission on their sales. "This is relatively low for a fair of this size," said Susan Froelich, coor- dinator of the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair Inc. (AASAFI). Profits earned above the 4% fee artists keep Froelich added. A total of 1000 artists participate in all three fairs. AASAFI, which coordinates the South U fair, re- ceives about 1400 applications an- nually for the 200 positions avail- able. The non-profit organization also purchases artists' works for public buildings. One work, by local artist Grace Ann Warn, will be dedicated in June to the Catherine McCauley Health Center. In the past AASAFI donated works to the Ronald Mc- Donald House and the new edition of the Ann Arbor Public Library. But not everyone appreciates the art fair. Ann Arbor residents often The original Earth Day was held in Ann Arbor in 1970 Ann Arbor citizens still actively work for environmental causes. Some of the groups that do this work are Greenpeace, the Rainforset Action Movement, and Recycle Ann Arbor. CIty seeks solutions to its *environmental problems complain about the large crowds, volumes of litter and lack of parking spaces the art fair spawns. In an attempt to respond to the problems caused by the art fair, this year a system will be used to register visitors and allow them to give their input on the event. While the art fair annoys some Ann Arborites with the inconve- niences it creates, other residents turn the problems into profit by charging visitors up to $5 to park on their lawns. Others, however, appreciate the event's excellence. Artists often tell Froelich that Ann Arbor's art fair is one of the top three in the country she said. Local artist I.B. Remsen demon- strates his pottery skills on South University during the art fair. He travels throughout the year "as far east as Boston and as far west as Minneapolis," but attends the Ann Arbor event each year because he can depend on its attendance and sales. ; "You can always count on it. It's unique in that it has held its own in , an indifferent economy," said Rem- sen "It's a quasi-community, quasi- business and quasi-artistic event." "Everyone talks about how much 4 money the artists make," Remsen : added, "but the businesses make the most money." Organizations other than the three art fair associations also plan activi- ties to coincide with the art fair. The Ann Arbor Y organizes children's events including painting, wood sculpting, and sun visor fashioning. The Washtenaw Council for the Arts organizes several performances for the art fair. Live bands, theater groups, mimes, and children's groups perform throughout the week. Of course, with 400,000 people in the city for one weekend, there are a few parties as well. Some fraterni- ties throw open parties to celebrate the occasion while other students re- lax on their front lawns at their own private get-togethers. When the artists pack up their displays, the fun doesn't end. So even if you're not an art enthusiast, there's a reason to come to Ann Ar- bor for the art fair. by Mike Sullivan Daily Staff Writer Living up to its reputation as the most liberal city in Michigan, Ann Arbor has a long history of envi- ronmental leadership. Nevertheless, the city faced rude news in the last few years: its landfills are almost full. In response to reports that Ann Arbor's current landfill sites will be full by the year 2000, April's city election ballot included a proposal issuing $28 million in bonds for waste management. The proposal passed by a four to one margin, a record level of support for any bond issue in Ann Arbor history. Part of those funds will be used to establish a voluntary recycling program in the city, including the distribution of sorting bins to all residences and weekly pick-ups. The proposal also allocated $5.4 million for the design and construc- tion of a recyclable materials recov- ery facility (MRF). MRFs come in all shapes and sizes, from simple collection facili- ties for pre-sorted recyclables to au- tomated plants that can sort recy- clable from unrecyclable material. Designs for Ann Arbor's facility have not been completed, said John Newman of the Ann Arbor Solid Waste Deptartment, but a 1989 Washtenaw County report on Waste Management calls for a "Class IV" MRF in Ann Arbor. Class IV MRFs include manual sorting of waste and a transfer station for relay- ing unusable waste to either an incinerator or a landfill. Voluntary recycling is not new to Ann Arbor. Since 1978, Recycle Ann Arbor has sponsored volunteer- operated trucks that pick-up pre- sorted recyclables once a month. More than one-third of single- family dwellings participate by seperating newspaper, glass, tin and aluminum from their other garbage. Recycle Ann Arbor also operates a Drop-Off Station at 2050 South Industrial, where would-be recyclers who missed, or can't wait until, their pick-up day can bring recy- clable. The' Drop-Off Station also accepts office paper and corrugated cardboard from commercial donors. In addition, the Ypsilanti Recy- cling Project recently began a pro- gram that accepts PET and HDPE plastics, such as milk jugs, plastic peanut butter jars and liquid detergent bottles. The University celebration of Earth Day in 1970 laid the ground- work for city's environmental efforts since. Held a month before National Earth Day, so students could study for finals, the University event fea- tured speeches by prominent ecolo- gists Ralph Nader and Barry Com- moner and several national politi- cians. Crisler arena couldn't hold the more than 13,000 people who ar- rived for the finale, which included a free concert by Gordon Lightfoot. The Ann Arbor Ecology Center is the most obvious legacy of Earth Day. The Ecology Center operates a small office and public library on Detroit Street, and runs a vareity of programs including Project Grow and Recycle Ann Arbor. 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