For the past thirteen years, a crowd of artisans, families, food trucks, and live bands have congregated in early fall for the Newtown Arts Festival. The three-day event takes place on a large, square field nestled between the old brick buildings of the former Fairfield Hills Hospital campus, a space the town lends to any non-profit or charity organization. The festival gathers the community to celebrate and support the arts, with all proceeds going to local artists and art organizations.
On Friday, September 26, 2025, the event kicked off with a concert by The Zoo at 8:30 p.m. By 11 a.m. on Saturday, the canopies of one hundred vendors popped up on the field, morning sun reflecting off the clean white tops of their tents. A row of food trucks produced a dull generator hum and infused the air with charred meats and frying grease. Fair delicacies included Hindsight BBQ, Crazy Taco, Grumpy Dumpling, and Little Kernels Kettle Corn. A hive of people buzzed about, chatting and laughing as they wove between the rows of vendors. Families, cliques of young friends, couples holding hands, and solo venturers treaded paths in the soft grass. At craft booths, young kids decorated canvas tote bags with thick paintbrushes or strung colorful beads into bracelets. Older women huddled together in excited groups, dressed in their Sunday best, eager to find an eclectic art piece to take home.
Under each tent canopy was an artist showcasing their unique products: mini crochet flowers, small watercolor prints, ceramic vessels, and painted walking sticks adorned with strips of leather and colored stones. These crafted goods are handmade, which means each stitch, jewel, or drop of paint was handled with careful attention.
Every one of these vendors sells their products on Instagram or online storefronts. So why do they go through all the trouble of lugging their precious goods and clunky gear to an art fair, where the weather can be unpredictable and sometimes destructive? One year, a glass artist’s tent flipped over during heavy winds and every piece of their artwork was destroyed. But the risks are worth the rewards for these traveling artists. Many of the vendors confessed that they make significantly more sales at in-person events.
One reason for the higher in-person sales, according to artist Steve Habersang of Habby Art, is that “you’re able to tell the story behind the art when you’re in person.” Steve stands tall behind his display of intricate ink drawings, small square prints of whimsical nature scenes and animal sketches. Discovering what inspired a piece of artwork helps develop the deeper meaning behind it, and people are drawn to art when it makes them feel something. Steve’s smile falls away when he mentions an ugly truth about online storefronts like Etsy. Merchants have been using AI images, or worse, ripping off other artists’ work to develop images on mugs, T-shirts, or stickers, and market the work as their own. The theft of intellectual property makes online posting risky for artists working in two-dimensional forms, like drawing and painting, as this work is most susceptible to digital bandits.
Each hardworking vendor undergoes a personal journey to become an artist, and hearing their story breathes life into their work. Lee Skalkos started working at her father’s welding business at eighteen. She quickly developed a desire to make jewelry with the welding supplies, and easily convinced her father to help her dream come true. There was no internet back then and they had to figure out the manufacturing process through trial and error. In her early days of doing art shows, Lee was so young, people didn’t believe that she made the jewelry herself. Under Skalkos’s canopy is a big glass case that houses her handmade rings, earrings, and necklaces. The jewelry is constructed of thin loops of silver surrounding polished stones, mostly seafoam green or blue. Skalkos peddles her wares with a relaxed smile, hands clasped comfortably in front of her. She has now been bringing her goods to art fairs for thirty-five years.
“The whole community comes out and supports each other.”
The sense of a supportive community reaches beyond the festival thanks to the vendors who are doing it all for a charitable cause. Gil Rodriguez, owner of Believe Your GRReatness, proudly gushes about his company’s mission. In rapid-fire speech, he explains how he makes suncatchers and wind chimes out of recycled drumsticks and cymbals, donating all proceeds to the promotion of music education for youth struggling with their mental health. The suncatchers and wind chimes are made by cutting out shapes from old metal cymbals and arranging them neatly along a thin metal chain. Rodriguez’s mother makes stained-glass butterflies and roses that are featured on a few choice pieces. Little bells or long, thin chimes are attached to the bottom, twinkling in the breeze. Rodriguez’s art demonstrates sustainability and connects his family to the community.
In-person events are also a great way for these small-business owners to find a supportive community of like-minded people. Many of the vendors at the Newtown Arts Festival return annually and develop relationships with the artisans and attendees. Skalkos has made genuine friends through her years of doing art shows and has witnessed in Newtown that the “whole community comes out and supports each other.”
Marleen Cafarelli, the festival photographer, shares this belief. Her eleven years documenting the event have “made Newtown feel like home.” The connections that are made at in-person events can be long-lasting and have profound effects.
The Newtown Arts Festival has grown larger with each passing fall, this year drawing in around five hundred people over the course of the weekend. Many of the vendors are already excited about coming to the next one. Andrea Spencer, part of the Newtown Arts Commission, foresees this event continuing annually for many years to come.
Featured Image: Festival 2024 Welcome Sign / Photo Credit Marleen Cafarelli, www.photoandvideoartworks.com
Interesting point about online theft of artists’ work….Sweet article.