The
ninth eighth annual Francisco's Farm Art Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, June 25-26, at Equus Run Vineyards and Winery
three and a half miles east of Midway. It will feature art by scores of artists from 16 states, such as this painting by Robert Rodenberger of Marietta, Ga., which Midway Renaissance
is featuring in its promotions of the nationally recognized event. The wine bottle
shows appears to show the Weisenberger Mill in the Scott County part of "Greater Midway," but Rodenberger says he never heard of it, according to Marcie Christensen of Renaissance. (See comment below.)
The festival is named for Col. John Francisco, who sold his farm to Kentucky's first railroad so it could create Kentucky's first railroad town. Now the only evidence of the festival in town is a banner across Winter Street, US 62, and a few directional signs.
UPDATE, June 24: The vineyard is on Moores Mill Road, where today workers were placing banners along the shoulder near the entrance.
Renaissance's decision to move the festival from the Midway College campus, which
upset some downtown interests, was made for several reasons, event coordinator Marcie Christensen told
Business Lexington recently. "The move to Equus Run will enhance our ability to attract art patrons, expand our opportunities for creative expression, and provide broader and more diverse exposure for our corporate sponsors," she
said. "The opportunity to provide an evening concert and the beautiful ambience of the vineyard will continue to elevate the reputation of the festival as a show not to be missed."
Renaissance is promoting downtown on the
Francisco's Farm website, but there will be no shuttle service between the city and the vineyard. The route is on the MapQuest image below.
In tonight's edition of
The Woodford Sun (which is not online), correspondent and downtown promoter John McDaniel reports that downtown merchants will have sidewalk sales this weekend, and that an "Art's Fair" with 15 artists will be held in the downtown courtyard from 10 to 5 Saturday and noon to 5 on Sunday. Those are the same hours as the festival, except that the festival will run until 6 Saturday.
Although buildings on the wine bottle have an uncanny resemblance to Weisenberger Mill, it turns out it's just a lovely coincidence. The artist told me has never seen Weisenberger Mill but created the entire painting from his imagination.
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