Brandywine Arts began with a single fall art festival in Wilmington, Delaware, and grew into a family of three seasonal events. The Brandywine Festival of the Arts, held each year on the weekend after Labor Day, is the flagship. Featuring hundreds of juried artists exhibiting one-of-a-kind work, it is a Delaware tradition spanning over half a century and the largest arts festival in the state. It is regionally popular, nationally recognized, and perennially ranks among the top 100 shows in the country.
Each year, 15,000 visitors come to Brandywine Park's Josephine Gardens for an end-of-summer weekend of over 200 artists exhibiting in a wide range of styles and mediums, live music, children's activities, and a selection of local food vendors including beer and wine.
Artist David Burslem and "Big" George Sargisson, founder of the Brandywine Arts Festival, taken at the 9th Street Plaza in Fall of 1974. Thanks to Meg Little for the photo.
The first Brandywine Arts Festival was held in 1961, organized by the nonprofit Recreation Promotion and Service and led by "Big George" Sargisson along with a cadre of volunteers. In the early days, it was a one-day event with two-dimensional art and a bull roast, where participating artists hung paintings on clothesline and snow fence. Over the years, the bull roast was dropped, fine craft items were added, and artists began using racks and canopies to display their work.
As the festival grew in popularity, visitors arrived from many surrounding areas and participants came from as far as California, with many years drawing artists from more than thirty states. After a hiatus, the festival changed management and name. Under Barry Schlecker, the new Brandywine Festival of the Arts kept the original spirit of the art fair while adding live music, local food vendors, and children's activities. It still takes place in Brandywine Park, its original location, on the weekend after Labor Day that Brandywiners have come to anticipate for more than sixty years.
That fall tradition now anchors a year-round family of festivals. In May, the Brandywine Spring Festival of the Arts brings the celebration outdoors to the Siegel JCC, a two-day event with more than 150 juried artists and artisans, local food, a beer garden, and a family- and pet-friendly setting. Inspired by the fall festival, it offers a fresh seasonal opportunity to discover original work.
In December, the Brandywine Holiday Festival of the Arts moves indoors to the Chase Center on the Wilmington Riverfront. With 150 local artists and artisans, it gives holiday shoppers a place to find handmade gifts and seasonal work, with $5 admission and free parking. Together, the three festivals carry the same juried standards and community spirit across the year, from Brandywine Park in the fall to the JCC in spring and the Riverfront in December.
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