Millstock coming June 2 Millstock, which opens Clayton’s summer the first Saturday in June, will return to downtown Horne Square on June 2. Artists from Clayton and the surrounding area are invited to sell and exhibit their work at the arts festival. The square is at the corner of Main and Lombard streets. So far, 30 artists have signed up for booths. Fifteen are from Clayton, four from Raleigh, five from other Wake towns and four from Johnston. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Setup is 8-10 a.m. Attendance is free. Sponsored by Clayton Visual Arts, Inc., the festival marked one of the first uses of the newly renovated square last year. Twenty-seven artists participated, and nearly all had compliments about the festival, Horne Square, and Clayton’s atmosphere. Artist/jeweler John McFadden of Clayton Visual Arts will head the event for the second year. Chalk It Up, a sidewalk chalk art contest for youngsters and adults, will be back. Cash prizes totaling $170 will be awarded to the winners. A free children’s booth is planned. Here youngsters can make their own art—paintings or collages—and take it home. Another booth will offer information about a new trend among artists—art trading cards, similar to baseball cards. The cards are especially popular with young artists, and also among established artists. Festival applications will be accepted in a number of categories: painting, graphics, printmaking, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, glass, fiber, jewelry, woodwork, photography, mixed media and other. The event will be held rain or shine. Deadline is May 25. To ensure a high-quality show, Clayton Visual Arts seeks work that meets certain standards and will jury all applications. All artwork must be of original design and executed by the exhibiting artist or artisan. Any work considered offensive or which does meet exhibition standards will be disallowed. No craft kits or commercially manufactured items will be accepted. Millstock also will have a lineup of local and area musical and dance acts during the day. Included are musicians Bruce Naegelen, Bob Clarke, Chris Fouts, Kennedy Fitzsimmons, John McMahan, and Johnny Orr, who will wrap up the day. The Twilight Tribal dance troupe also will perform. The Flipside restaurant, which founded Millstock, plans a music program the same afternoon/evening. It is a half-block from Horne Square. Fee for a 10-foot-by-10-foot artist’s booth is $35, the same as in 2011. No commissions will be taken on artist sales. A brochure with complete information and an application form is available at claytonvisualartsnc.org. It has been emailed to artists and others. Anyone interested in participating should email claytonvisualarts@rocketmail.com; telephone event chairman McFadden, 919-359-3649; or write Clayton Visual Arts, P.O. Box 698, Clayton, NC 27528. Horne Square was named for early 1900s Clayton businessman Ashley Horne, whose two-story, Victorian mansion once stood on the site. The square was dedicated April 26, 2011. Clayton Visual Arts, a volunteer, nonprofit, 501 (c) 3 organization of artists and art lovers, is in its eighth year with Millstock.
