POTTERY FESTIVAL

The City of Richmond’s largest annual festival began three years ago and got off to a great start. The first year of the festival, the city had a great turnout with more than 15,000 people visit Irvine-McDowell Park. Each year, the festival has grown. The third year of the festival, the park was flooded with more than 60 vendors and 25,000 festival patrons.

The Pottery Festival features potters from across the state. Bybee Pottery, of Madison County, teaches festival patrons how to shape a piece of pottery and then allows them to take home their own creation. Other potters also do demonstrations under the main tent. Other Madison County potters include Tater Knob Pottery of Berea, Bill Whitt of Flatwoods Pottery, Matthew Trimble of Pots By Me and Krystal Kokinda of Ally Cat Pottery. Potters from across the state include Terea Cole of Cedar Meadow Studios, John and Sue Martin of Martin Studio, Robin Krimm of Matilda’s Mudpies Medieval Reproductions and Nancy and J. Wright of J. Wright Pottery.

The festival also features arts and crafts vendors from across the state. Each vendor has space for demonstration and sales. Arts and crafts vendors sell everything from jewelry to clothing, handbags, woodcrafts, body products and more. Food vendors fill the park with the smells of funnel cakes, popcorn, hot-dogs, hamburgers and much more.

To satisfy the children’s need to play, Kids Fest also invades the park during Richmond Pottery Festival. Kids Fest is in its seventh year. Kids Fest features inflatable play equipment, games and entertainment geared toward the younger crowd. The Richmond Pottery Festival takes place the second weekend of September each year.