By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
The turkey has been carved, and soon Christmas trees will be lit and holiday festivities will pepper calendars.
Among those favorite annual traditions in Hays is the Hays Arts Council’s Winter Art Walk, which will once again provide area residents to enjoy local artists at locations inside shops and restaurants across downtown Hays and beyond.
The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 3. The day follows the format developed during the pandemic to allow attendees to explore the installations along with downtown shops and restaurants while avoiding the crowds that form during the Friday night schedule, a hallmark of other arts walks throughout the year.
“We moved them to the Saturday to dilute the audience a little bit, let people feel very comfortable being out,” said Hays Arts Council Executive Director Brenda Meder. “But then you realize that it's such a great time to be downtown. You know that our downtown's beautiful. We have incredible retail places and other merchants and spaces that look festive.
"And it's just a lovely experience — great restaurants and coffee houses and the whole nine yards.”
She said the daylong event, while more work for the arts council, is a boon for the city.
“I know it's a good thing for our community. People can come downtown and spend more time, look at whatever art you want, and then go have coffee, then go to this place that's not even on the art walk. But they're open because it's Saturday, and you'll shop there,” Meder said. “And then maybe go back and look at something else, or head down to the college and catch that exhibit before it closes it too.”
It's a great way to settle into the community and enjoy arts and culture, retail and business establishments while not feeling rushed to see all the art walk locations, she said.
“Chestnut Street Kitchens is on the Winter Art Walk. Again, I'm so excited that they were back on that. They're a fabulous place to go during the holidays. And they are going to be hosting some middle school art from here in our community.”
The Five State Photography competition will again anchor this year’s Winter Artwalk, marking its 39th year.
“One of the big key features is the anchor and is the reason that we get a lot of out-of-town visitors that day,” Meder said. “That's why it's cool to have our downtown to celebrate not just for our own community but for these guests that come in. And I want them to take advantage of that.”
This year, the popular multistate competition received 549 entries. Only 150 made it to the exhibition.
April Watson, photography curator at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, was selected as the judge for this year’s exhibition.
With so much work coming in, Meder said that many otherwise deserving entries would not make the show.
“This year's competition is so steep, there's going to be a lot of truly not just good work, but really brilliant work that just won't make it into the show,” Meder said. “It's one person's opinion. We hire a qualified judge of integrity and reputation. … And so, I know we're going to get a wonderful show. But I also know that a lot of brilliant work will never see the light of day.”
The sting of rejection might remain for those not selected, but she said the high level of competition would create an exceptional show for visitors as they explore the locations and partake in other Hays amenities.
“There's just going to be a lot of fun options, but the heart and soul of that day will be the Winter Artwalk anchored by that big Five State Photography,” Meder said. “So we really do want to get people to get that on your calendar. It's going to be a wonderful day.”