Shadow Boxes, Papercraft, and Other Art Coming to the 863 Art Fest
by James Coulter
Shadow boxes. Papercraft. And custom leather journals. These are some of the arts and crafts that will be showcased by local artists at the 863 Art Fest.
More than 100 vendors will set up shop in Central Park in Downtown Winter Haven for the annual free community art festival on Sat. Apr. 19, 2025, from 10 AM – 4 PM.
Attendees can expect arts and crafts, food trucks, homemade baked goods, and other novelty goods to be sold and traded in scenic Downtown Winter Haven.
One local artist, Tracie Burk, will be showcasing her 3-D shadow boxes. She discovered the art form on social media and thought to herself, “I can make one of those.” And so she did. That is how she started her business Sweet Punkin Designs.
“I like the 3D popping,” she explained. “I like that it comes off the frame. That is the inspiration for me.”
Burk learned about the 863 Art Fest on Facebook several years ago. She was amazed by the promotion for the event. So, she reached out to the organizer, and she’s been attending with her art ever since.
“It is a cute, quaint marketplace with a lot of vendors,” she said. “So if you come out with your family and pet, you can have a great time. It has to be my top one to be involved in. I just love the whole ambiance of the place.”
Ellen Kimble has been showcasing her papercraft and her custom-made leather journals. As a transplant from New Hampshire, she moved to Florida to get out of the cold weather. And she takes advantage of that warm climate to attend events such as this.
“Since being in Florida, I retired and I needed something to occupy my time so I started making fine papercrafts,” she said. “Growing up, my mother made everything. Back in those years, you really had to. And getting bored from sitting around after I retired…I decided I needed a little something else to do.”
She started attending the 863 Art Fest five years ago. She was impressed by how the event was well organized, especially in its venue of Central Park in Downtown Winter Haven.
“Central Park is a great beautiful area in Winter Haven, and it helps reflect the beauty of the creations that vendors have,” she said.
Ellen and Tracie recently appeared on the Chattin on the Ridge podcast to discuss their involvement with the 863 Art Fest. Listen to the full episode on Acast:https://shows.acast.com/chattin-on-the-ridge/episodes/ep-59-art-fests-and-book-crawls-wellen-kimble-sandi-silverma
