The Northampton Arts Council works to support and nurture the arts in the city of Northampton. The Council awards grants twice each year to artists and arts groups from both state and locally-raised funds, and seeks to improve public awareness of the arts. Its' goals include maintaining and preserving the rich and diverse cultural heritage of Northampton, programming such annual events of interest to the community as First Night Northampton and Transperformance.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

American Craft Week Announces 2016 Top Ten Towns for Craft Lovers

American Craft Week Announces 2016 Top Ten Towns for Craft Lovers

And, the winners are…

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—July 21, 2016—American Craft Week, the nation’s largest annual craft event, celebrated this year from October 1-16, has launched its second annual nationwide web competition to determine America’s favorite places to enjoy a vibrant craft scene. For the past six weeks, craft lovers have been logging on to the American Craft Week website to choose their favorite places to enjoy a vibrant craft scene. With more than 47,789 votes tallied, the contest closed Sunday, July 17, 2016. Diane Sulg, founder and co-chair of American Craft Week, today announced the winners:

“Congratulations, to all the wonderful places across the USA that made it into the Top Ten Towns For Craft Lovers. There was much excitement this year as community advocates rallied votes and brought people together to support this contest. The winners are impressive and we are happy to see so much community pride in all the places that received votes.”

The number one winner this year is Berea, KY. Last year Berea made the list at number 9 and this year through the efforts of many community groups coming together “pestering, posting and pleading” they made it to number one.

The complete top ten list includes #10 Louisville, KY (not on the list last year), #9 New Hope, PA (number 10 last year), #8 Northampton, MA (not on the list last year), #7 Asheville, NC number 5 last year), #6 Blue Ridge, GA (not on the list last year) #5 Brattleboro, VT (number 2 last year), #4 Cumberland Valley, PA (number 6 last year), #3 Bedford, VA (not on the list last year), #2 St. Petersburg, FL (number one last year) and #1 Berea, KY.

Now in its seventh year, American Craft Week, the country’s largest celebration of handmade American craft, is slated for October 1-16. With thousands of diverse events at galleries, artist studios, museums, schools and festivals, it is the premiere public celebration of handmade craft in America. It is a volunteer managed program of CRAFT (Craft Retailers and Artists for Tomorrow) a trade association dedicated to the growth and vitality of the craft industry. For more information, visit Americancraftweek.com and craftonline.org.

Connect & Follow

Artist News

    Council News

      Search This Blog

      Blog Archive