The Woodland Art Fair at 50: Hot, Crowded, and Worth It

The 50th Woodland Art Fair landed on one of those dog-days-of-summer Saturdays where the heat is just a fact you agree to. It also landed on UK move-in weekend, so Lexington was full in every direction. We got there around noon anyway, along with what felt like half the city.

First tip, learned the hard way: hydrate at home before you come. I had planned to just buy water and drinks at the fair, and you can, but you pay fair prices for them. Hydrating at home is free, and it gives you a head start on an afternoon like this.

The fair itself is exactly what the name promises: handmade art from the people who made it. Hand-painted magnets, glass art, sculpture, and yes, cat butthole art, you read that right, somebody makes it, and somebody was buying it. That range is kind of the point. You can walk the loop as a museum or as a shopping trip, and either way there is more to look at than one lap covers.

The food scene is no afterthought: 38 food and beverage vendors this year. I walked past Kentucky Q, caught one whiff of wood smoke, and knew my decision had been made for me. Pulled pork plate, bourbon BBQ sauce, potato salad, baked beans. I have family in Owensboro, so I know BBQ, and this is good BBQ. Just a bottle of water with it, see tip one.

After lunch I wanted something fancier and found it at Jasmine Rice: a Thai tea that might have been the most refreshing thing at the fair. Highly recommend. My wife splurged at the Castle & Key trailer on the Watermelon Smash, Castle & Key bourbon, tart watermelon, lemon, and bitters. On a ninety-something-degree day, that drink makes a strong argument for itself.

One thing you notice at Woodland that you don't at every festival: the dogs. People bring them, and you will meet some of the friendliest, best-dressed-for-summer dogs in Lexington.

What it actually cost: admission is free, so your money goes where you point it. We put ours here: $40 at Kentucky Q (I ordered an extra portion of pulled pork, no regrets), $5 for the Thai tea, $12 for the Watermelon Smash, and $24 for three hand-painted glass refrigerator magnets at $8 apiece. Call it about $73 for two people to eat well, drink well, and take some art home. You could do the whole fair for the cost of a water bottle, or you could do real damage at the sculpture booths, the fair meets whatever budget walks in.

The parking story, since I write about this for a living: we arrived around noon, and by then every side street around the park was spoken for. We ended up parking near Euclid Avenue and walking up, which worked fine. The find of the day, though, was on Clay Avenue: Hope Presbyterian Church was running $10 paid parking in their lot, with proceeds going to Beauty Table, a Lexington organization that supports local artists. A guaranteed spot a short walk from the park, and the money goes to artists, at an art fair. If the side streets are full, that's the move. Full details, garages, and the free-meter trick are in the Woodland Art Fair parking guide.

The fair runs the same weekend every August, and Sunday is the quieter day if crowds aren't your thing. This wasn't our first Woodland haul, either. A few years back we bought a larger glass piece from a booth that has been at the fair year after year, and it still has a place in our house. That's the thing about Woodland: the artists come back, and so do we.