Photo by Marielle Shaw.
You may have been to craft fairs before. After all, there are lots of art fests around the city and suburbs year-round. Maybe you feel like if you've seen one, you've seen them all. If so, we encourage you to break out of that mindset and head to the always gorgeous Chicago Botanic Garden this weekend for the 33rd annual American Craft Exposition.
Gorgeous setting aside, the American Craft Expo represents some of the best artists from around the country in a myriad of categories- jewelry, glasswork, metal, ceramics and more adorn the aisles, and you can peruse them all with a cocktail in hand, and even chat with the makers.
The show kicked off Thursday with a sneak preview, but continues through Sunday, from 10 am to 6 pm (5 pm Sunday). There are over 140 artists participating in this competitive, juried art show, and proceeds go to support orthopaedic regenerative medicine and pharmacogenomics research at NorthShore University's HealthSystem.
The show is one of our favorites of the year at the Botanic Garden, as it's a veritable treasure trove of beautiful, bespoke pieces to dazzle. If you've been looking for something one-of-a-kind, this is the place to go for it. And while it's a crowded event each year, we've always found time to chat with the people making these gorgeous pieces, and get an idea of how and why they do the things they do. If a little open air shopping while the weather's still amenable sounds good, why not take a trip out to Glencoe this weekend and see these works of art?
Tickets to enter the show are $13 for garden members and $15 for nonmembers, with parking fees still applicable to nonmembers. In addition to regular tickets though, this year the garden is offering some ticket bundles that include a discounted garden membership rate. Take a look on the site and then take a trip to the garden for fresh air, great art and some fun in the sun. 
33rd Annual Craft Exposition at Chicago Botanic Garden This Weekend
Photo by Marielle Shaw.
You may have been to craft fairs before. After all, there are lots of art fests around the city and suburbs year-round. Maybe you feel like if you've seen one, you've seen them all. If so, we encourage you to break out of that mindset and head to the always gorgeous Chicago Botanic Garden this weekend for the 33rd annual American Craft Exposition.
Gorgeous setting aside, the American Craft Expo represents some of the best artists from around the country in a myriad of categories- jewelry, glasswork, metal, ceramics and more adorn the aisles, and you can peruse them all with a cocktail in hand, and even chat with the makers.
The show kicked off Thursday with a sneak preview, but continues through Sunday, from 10 am to 6 pm (5 pm Sunday). There are over 140 artists participating in this competitive, juried art show, and proceeds go to support orthopaedic regenerative medicine and pharmacogenomics research at NorthShore University's HealthSystem.
The show is one of our favorites of the year at the Botanic Garden, as it's a veritable treasure trove of beautiful, bespoke pieces to dazzle. If you've been looking for something one-of-a-kind, this is the place to go for it. And while it's a crowded event each year, we've always found time to chat with the people making these gorgeous pieces, and get an idea of how and why they do the things they do. If a little open air shopping while the weather's still amenable sounds good, why not take a trip out to Glencoe this weekend and see these works of art?
Tickets to enter the show are $13 for garden members and $15 for nonmembers, with parking fees still applicable to nonmembers. In addition to regular tickets though, this year the garden is offering some ticket bundles that include a discounted garden membership rate. Take a look on the site and then take a trip to the garden for fresh air, great art and some fun in the sun.