Taking place at City Park, the Edwardsville Art Fair is held to promote local artists and raise funds for the Edwardsville Art Center.

The fair built upon successful displays of last year with the added bonus of cooperation by the weather.

Lauren Mudge, daughter of the vice president of the Edwardsville Arts Center (EAC), was excited to see the growth of artists participating in comparison to last year.

“Numbers nearly doubled, and people flocked from neighboring cities just to come and support local artists, the EAC and the school district,” Ms. Mudge said.

The arts play a big role in Edwardsville, as was demonstrated by the musical groups that performed throughout the day, including Bel Canto and Suzuki students.

“We performed a number of songs throughout the day,” senior and Bel Canto and Chamber Singers participant Victoria Burrell said.

The group doesn’t typically perform outside, but it didn’t pose a problem for the groups.

“We had to sing outside, which wasn’t an issue because the weather was awesome,” Burrell said.

Each group sang a number of songs for their audience, which included passerby of all ages and the nearly 100 artists that participate in the fair each year.

“Bel Canto sang the Shoop Shoop song, Danny Boy and Party in the USA. Acafellaz sang Vive La’mour and Sherry. Chamber Singers sang Star Dust, Deep Purple, Fair Phyllis I Saw, II Est Bel Et Bon,” Burrell said.

For Burrell, the best part was pleasing the audience.

“Obviously singing the songs and seeing the audience enjoying our music was the best part for me,” Burrell said.

The fair attracted many more people than it did last year, seemingly due to the compassion Edwardsville has towards the arts.

“Seeing how much the arts support our community and its schools is truly special,” Ms. Mudge said. “Edwardsville is incredibly fortunate.”