By DANIEL ROSS
Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne

FORT WAYNE — The seventh annual Taste of the Arts is set for 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at 300 E. Main St., Fort Wayne.

Taste of the Arts features music, dance, fine arts, theatre, film, crafts, culture, history and local restaurant food. It is a family-friendly showcase of local talent and a chance to participate in a wide variety of engaging and entertaining activities. The event brings together more than 25,000 visitors and 650 volunteers, participants and performers.

Proceeds from sponsors, Friends of the Taste and food and beverage sales keep the festival admission free and provide funding for arts and cultural activities in northeast Indiana.

Taste of the Arts will feature 11 stages this year, with more than 78 acts in dance, music and performance art.

New This Year

BuskerFest acts that were rained out earlier this summer will have a second chance to perform. The Downtown Improvement District and Arts United have partnered to provide a special stage located just east of the Auer Center for Arts and Culture on Main Street. BuskerFest performers include Rusty Ammerman’s Dimension of Illusion, Fort Wayne Taiko, the Thurgood Marshall Leadership Academy Steppers and many more.

Every year, Artlink hosts a paint-out fundraiser called Wet Paint. This year’s paint-out artists will descend upon Arts United’s Taste of the Arts Festival. More than 20 top local artists will participate. Artists will have their easels set up and scattered throughout the festival grounds and silent bids may be made all day in Artlink’s gallery, though most of the bidding will take place between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Winners can take their wet masterpieces home. All proceeds from the Wet Paint Auction support Artlink’s programming.

Attendees can also check out FortArtisan, a juried art fair organized by Artlink Contemporary Art Gallery that includes artists and crafters producing original items using traditional methods.

For a complete listing of Taste of the Arts events, click here.