This is a huge FREE celebration of the arts that takes over downtown Wheaton, MD. Located right next to the Wheaton WMATA Metro/Bus Station & New Marian Fryer Town Plaza / Mid-County regional center.
Art Takes Over the Streets of Wheaton Maryland!
Seventh Annual Wheaton Arts Parade & Festival Returns on Sunday, Oct. 15,
Filling the Marian Fryer Town Plaza in Downtown Wheaton With Art, Music, Dance
WHAT: Wheaton Arts Parade & Festival https://www.wheatonartsparade.org/
WHEN: Sunday, October 15, 2023
Parade start: 10:00 a.m.
Festival: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Performances: Noon – 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: Downtown Wheaton — Marion Fryer Town Plaza (2424 Reedie Dr.). The parade walks from Ennalls Ave. to Georgia Ave. to Triangle Lane to Grandview Ave. to the plaza.
Cost: Free to attend. Vendors at food tents, wine and beer garden, and artists tents.
WHEATON, MD — Southbound traffic will be stopped Sunday Morning on Georgia Avenue, between Ennalls and Reedie on Sunday, Oct. 15 starting at 10:00 a.m. as artists, makers and creatives of all ages parade, performing, pulling, pushing, and carrying art. Nineteen hand-made art sculpture floats plus costumed walkers and members of Montgomery Art Association carrying art will be joined by the Einstein High School Marching Band (Montgomery County); Batalá Washington, the all-female Afro-Brazilian percussion band; Montgomery Youth Pipe and Drum; and Sky’s the Limit Dance, to name just a few in this Seventh Annual Wheaton Arts Parade & Festival.
Following the parade, a day of all styles of performances will fill three stages in the Wheaton Urban District with children’s art activities, an artist market and more on Marian Fryer Town Plaza, Reedie Drive and on Grandview Avenue. The Wheaton Arts Parade & Festival will showcase some of the ethnic restaurants that put Wheaton on the map: including Salvadoran pupusas from Los Cobanos Restaurant; burgers and fries from Frank’s Burger Place, Venezuelan cachitos from Panateca, and artisanal pizza from Terra Mare, plus beer and wine from Denizen’s Brewing Co or the Urban Winery of Silver Spring in a tented beer garden.
The free event celebrates the artistic and cultural diversity of Wheaton and its surrounding communities while providing a showcase for local artists from fiber and fabric artists to painters, photographers, sculptors, jewelry designers, and more.
This year’s parade theme is “Art for Action.” Who better than artists to envision a better world? And what’s better than marching, walking, strolling and moving to inspire action in our community?
WHERE: Marian Fryer Town Plaza is located at 2424 Reedie Dr. in Wheaton right above the Wheaton Metro station. The Arts Parade starts at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Grandview and Ennalls avenues. Spectators should line up on the west side (southbound) of Georgia and on Reedie Dr, Grandview Ave or near the Reviewing Stand for the best viewing options.
WHAT’S AN ARTS PARADE: A parade that celebrates the arts and artists in the greater Wheaton community. Anyone can parade as long as they push, pull, carry, wear or perform art. And, on this day, everyone can be an artist. No motorized vehicles or live animals are allowed in the parade. No political campaigning and no advertising. A map of the parade route can be found at https://www.wheatonartsparade.org/paraderoute.
WHAT ABOUT THE FESTIVAL: The festival features more than 40 tents of local artists’ original works for sale, including paintings and prints, original photography, collage, watercolors and oils, handmade jewelry and fiber arts, and more. The three stages will showcase continuous performances starting at 12:00p.m. through 5:00 p.m. featuring live music and dance from around the world ranging from Akhmedova Ballet Academy to Bethesda Little Theater, Easy Way Band to O’McPub Band, folk musician Spencer J, Bolivian dance troupe Tinkus Kay’Sur USA, and the Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance. The festival takes place on the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month, so of course there will be Latin music and dance, including three acts sponsored by Strathmore, Batalá Washington, Taisha Estrada and JChrisA full list and schedule of performers is available here https://www.wheatonartsparade.org/festivalmap
WHO WILL BE THERE: https://www.wheatonartsparade.org/2023performers
https://www.wheatonartsparade.org/exhibitors
WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS: Family fun will include free balloon art and face painting, chalk art, and various free art-making activities in the exhibitors’ booths, plus plenty of performances that kids and teens will enjoy such as Munit and Z Lovebugs, a family of singers and ukulele players and “Mr. Lilo” both brought to the festival by Carpe Diem Arts.
HOW DO I GET THERE AND PARK: Take the Metro Red Line [list bus routes ] to Wheaton Station. Or drive and park (metered parking on Sunday is free) or park in the Metro garage across the street, which is also free on Sunday. Parking is also available at Westfield Mall, 11160 Veirs Mill Rd also located across the street from the festival area.
WHAT ABOUT WHEATON: Wheaton is one of three Maryland Arts and Entertainment Districts in Montgomery County. The mission of the Wheaton Arts Parade organization is to bring the community together with art. Wheaton is becoming known for its lively street art including murals, window art and the popular Wheaton Arts Parade Pyramids and Yarn Bomb.
Wheaton Arts Parade is a volunteer-led organization. The parade and festival are sponsored in part by the Montgomery County Government, Montgomery County Parks and Planning Departments, Greenhill Properties, Montgomery County Recreation, Westfield Wheaton, the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, and numerous local businesses and community organizations including IHOP, Los Chorros, The Limerick Pub and the Wheaton Studio of Dance, and by a grant from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County.
For more information on the parade and festival, visit: www.wheatonartsparade.org. Or follow us on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/wheatonartsparade/,
https://www.facebook.com/WheatonArtsParade,
https://twitter.com/ArtsWheaton.