Artistic endeavors are being celebrated across our island this June as two festivals overlap in dates: one festival honoring art and another that salutes those who write and those who love to read.
The Artists Association of Nantucket’s Plein Air Festival begins on Tuesday, June 14 and continues through Sunday, June 19. The public is invited to watch the painters capture Nantucket on canvas all across Nantucket, at respectful distances, please. All painters are welcome to join in this festival featuring artists in the landscape.
The “Wet Wall” will again be part of the Plein Air Festival, featuring art works posted in the AAN’s Cecelia Joyce & Seward Johnson Gallery downtown at 19 Washington Street immediately after completion every day for the public to view and to purchase.
On Wednesday, June 15, from 9 am to 1 pm or so, a “Paint Out” will be held at Brant Point, during which spectators can watch as artists create.
Plein Air culminates with the annual Frank Swift Chase Awards presentation on Sunday, June 19. A huge proponent of en plein air painting, Frank Swift Chase taught outdoor art classes on Nantucket starting in 1920 through the early 1950s, and the core of his regular students became the founders of the AAN. it is in this spirit that the AAN annually hosts Plein Air Nantucket.
Celebrating its 10 anniversary year, the Nantucket Book Festival brings more than 30 writers to Nantucket from Friday, June 16 through Sunday, June 17 to meet readers, sign books, talk about their craft, answer questions, and offer readings. Presenting authors this year include Scott Turow, Imbolo Mbue, James McBride, Louise Penny, Nathaniel Philbrick, Alice Hoffman, Dave Barry, Nancy Thayer, and Mitchell Jackson.
Nearly all of the more than two dozen festival events are free to attend and are being held in locations in the heart of town. There are three special events that require paid tickets, and they are selling fast! On Friday evening, June 17, an Author Dinner will be held in the Brant Point Grill where participants can mingle with authors while enjoying a buffet. This is the only fundraising event held during the Book Festival. Tickets are available at nantucketbookfestival.org.
Tickets are also now on sale and selling fast for the Rock Bottom Remainders Concert held Saturday, June 18 and for the special Nantucket Book Foundation fundraiser “An Evening with Elin,” featuring author Elin Hilderbrand, cocktails, a fashion show, a book signing, and a live auction for the chance to get your name as a character in Elins final novel in 2024.
For a full schedule of Nantucket Book Festival 2022 events, visit their website at NantucketBookFestival.org