Creativity and connection

Art in the Park, put on by the De Pere Area Chamber of Commerce, will return for its eleventh year next Saturday, June 20, at Voyageur Park, celebrating creativity and community connection.

“We’re really trying to connect our community together and that includes all aspects of the community,” said Chamber President David Vander Bloomen. “This whole event was started 11 years ago to just give some exposure to some of our local artists. I’ve really enjoyed seeing how it evolved.”

The event will feature both adult and youth artists, food trucks, live music and drinks.

New this year, Art in the Park will feature expanded cultural offerings, including demonstrations from local dance groups.

“As we continue to grow as a community and our cultural diversity expands, I think this is a really fun way to get to know some of those cultures that we don’t know a lot about,” Vander Bloomen said.

This year’s event will see artists’ booths moved out of the park’s expansive green space and into the north side of the park.

“We’ll again be in Voyageur Park, but this year we’ll be on the north side of the park,” Vander Bloomen said. “We’ll actually be in the trees and it will feel more like a stroll through the park to look at some good art.”

Vander Bloomen said the event aims to connect the community through shared passions.

“It’s evolved from just painting and pottery to culinary art and now we’re adding dance into it and we’ve added music,” Vander Bloomen said. “It’s not for us to judge what art is for somebody, and if we can expose that to our community, it makes us stronger as a community, whether it’s learning somebody else’s culture or what somebody else is passionate about, and really just letting that shine.”

Art in the Park will take place Saturday, June 20, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Voyageur Park. This year’s event does not have a rain date.

More information about the event can be found on the De Pere Area Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page.