Arts & Entertainment

Need To Know: Going to Common Ground's Art Fair

More than 160 juried artists and artisans will take over the streets of downtown Birmingham this weekend to raise funds for social agency.

Common Ground's 37th annual will take over the streets of downtown Birmingham this Saturday and Sunday.

Produced in association with the Guild of Artists and Artisans, the fair will feature more than 160 juried artists and artisans whose works be on display and available for purchase. Included will be ceramics, paintings, sculptures, jewelry and photography.

In addition, the fair — formerly known as Art in the Park, named for its former home in — returns this year to South Old Woodward Avenue. Booths will line the center of the street and face outward this year. Downtown merchants complained that last year's layout, when the booths lined the street and faced inward, .

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Also this year, Common Ground will have a "silent" auction tent, where fair-goers can bid on artwork to raise funds for Common Ground, which provides counseling and resources for Oakland County's adults, youths and families in crisis.

Heading downtown for the festivities this weekend? Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know:

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The basics

When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday

Where: Along South Old Woodward Avenue and Merrill Street

Road closures: South Old Woodward Avenue will be closed south of Maple Road; Merrill Street will be closed from South Old Woodward to Pierce Street.

Parking: Parking will be available on the street as well as in the city's five parking structures all weekend long. At the parking structures, the first two hours are free and each hour after that costs $1. At the meters, parking is $1 an hour.

On Sunday, parking in both the parking structures and on the street is free. For a map of Birmingham's parking structures, visit the city's website.

Price: Admission to the fair is free. Artwork is available for purchase at individual stands.

For the kids: The Detroit Institute of Arts will be on hand all weekend long with hands-on children's activities, including a special project where kids can create their own Chinese slat book.

Want to learn more?

For more information on the fair's official sponsors, visit the official website for the 2011 Street Art Fair. Make sure to see the official list of artists, broken down by type of artwork. You can also keep up with the Fair's official Facebook page, and stay tuned to Birmingham Patch for photos from the festival and video interviews with the artists.


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