programs

11th ANNUAL ClydeFEST!
April 14, 2012, 11 am-4 pm
Bynum Ball Field map, directions
$3 for children under 12,
$7 for adults
Rain date: April 15 from Noon-5.

Get ready for ClydeFEST 2012! 

ChathamArts and our ClydeFEST Committee masterminds are dreaming and scheming to make this 11th Annual celebration of folk artist Clyde Jones the "best FEST yet!". Mark your calendars to join us at the Bynum Ballfield on Sat., 4/14 from 11am-4pm, (rain date: Sun 4/15. noon-5pm). Admission is $3 for children under 12, $7 for adults. Adult tickets include a chance to win a Clyde Critter. Bynum is located off of U.S. 15-501 between Pittsboro and Chapel Hill. Meanwhile, stay tuned for critter sightings and updates!  ** Sponsors are needed and welcome! Please call 919-542-0394 for more info.**

ClydeFEST focuses on providing children with an authentic Chatham County arts experience as well as teaching about environmental education.

In 2011, there were booths,
exhibits and activities by Chatham Conservation Partners, Triangle Land Conservancy, the Haw River Assembly, Chatham Beekeepers Association, Bynum Community Garden, Pittsboro Montessori School, Chatham Independent School, Chatham County Friends of Pittsboro Library and more.

The Bynum Front Porch Stage featured music by the phenomenal Northwood Jazz Ensemble, Sarah “Honeybee” Osborne, an 18-year-old singer-songwriter from Graham, as well as the Bouncing Bulldogs International Rope-Skipping Team, and Happy Dan the Magic Man.

There were some new Clyde-themed games along with old favorites like Critter Toss, Mailbox Madness, and the Tire Patch. Kids can got their faces painted, visited a tarot card reader, and made art with Pam Gutlon from Durham’s Outsider Art Gallery and Happy Mess Arts School. At “Critterville” kids painted and glittered their very own Clyde Jones’ wooden animal cut-outs to take home as souvenirs. It's a 10-year tradition and kids around here count on getting creative with their "collaborations" and  "Critter Master Clyde."

Children enjoyed storytelling by Suzanne Robinson, Mary Lee Moore and Chatham Young Authors as well as balloon art by Mr. Rainbow and got "inked" at Mr. Jones’ Tattoo Parlour.

Extra Special Guest, was Folk Artist Peter Loose from Hull, Georgia in the Clyde-Mobile, with his rare African Tortoises in tow.   

Then when it comes to yummy eats Barney’s Hot Dogs, Triple J Ice Cream, Chatham Marketplace, Howard Alston's fish truck, and Shot of ’Spro were there to keep us energized.

While the self-taught artist’s works have been exhibited all over the world, and are on display all over Bynum, Clyde Jones' work is not for sale. So, the Critter Master himself, created outta cedar with his own two hands (and a chainsaw, some nails and some other bits) one of his World Famous Critters, right before our very eyes! A live auction followed for that very same Critter led by none other than The Mayor of Pittsboro, Randy Voller.

ChathamArts’ 10th Annual ClydeFEST was co-sponsored by Waste Management, Captain John’s Dockside Seafood, Crooks’ Corner, Weaver Street Realty. In-kind sponsors are Bynum Front Porch, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance, and the Town of Pittsboro.

Sponsors for 2012 are needed and welcome! Please call 919-542-0394 for more info.

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Check out “Clyde Jones Penguins, Giraffes and Other Critters His Joyous Vision” by Dr. Richard Semelka, a former radiologist at UNC Hospital.  

About Clyde

by York WIlson

In case you’ve been wondering what Clyde keeps himself busy with other than ClydeFEST, here’s a quick recap of some of the fun he’s had this year. Our famous friend has been on the road a lot!  He’s been to the Fearrington Folk Art Show in February, the Ocracoke Festival in the summer, Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, and starred in yet another documentary. He delivered several new pieces to the permanent collection at American Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore and he even made a star appearance in New York City!

photo courtesy Bergdorf Goodman

That’s right, folks, Clyde had his very own display window at NY’s most elegant and exclusive store, Bergdorf Goodman (or, as Clyde likes to call it, “Birddog’s”) on Fifth Avenue. Right there with an enormous Divine in one window and the giant pink poodle, Fifi, in the main entrance, Clyde’s critters stopped all sidewalk traffic as part of the American Visionary Arts Museum’s summer blockbuster show in the Big City. It was indeed a fabulous site the likes of which NYC has never seen!

When Clyde is home in Bynum he’s always entertaining friends – school groups and art collectors alike - so feel free to stop in and say hello!