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Submitted photo ARToberfest will feature a Plein Air painting contest (age 18+) with a $1,000 first-place prize, $400 second-place prize and $100 third-place prize.

Submitted photo A variety of artists will be set up with wares to sell.

Submitted photo Children can paint pumpkins, to show off their own artistic side.

Submitted photo Face painting will be among the fun activities available.

Submitted photo Fifth Day Farm will have its petting zoo set up at Turner Center's Art Park.

Submitted photo A variety of artists will be set up with wares to sell.

VALDOSTA — The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts will host the 7th annual ARToberfest next weekend. The festival observes National Arts & Humanities Month, celebrates the talent of local and regional artists, and highlights the arts’ remarkable impact on community life, according to a press release from the center.

ARToberfest will take place 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Turner Center Art Park, 605 N. Patterson St. The event is free and open to the public.

ARToberfest hosts dozens of artist vendors, giving them the space to display and sell their artworks. The festival is an event staple for the Turner Center and the Valdosta community and is the perfect opportunity for artists to share their works and flex their merchant muscles, the press release said.

In addition to art vendors, the festival will include pottery, flameworking and rug hooking demos, live music, the South Georgia Classic Car Club, professional face painting artists, trackless train rides, Fifth Day Farm Petting Zoo, pumpkin painting, food and beverage vendors and a Plein Air painting contest (age 18+) with a $1,000 first-place prize, $400 second-place prize and $100 third-place prize.

Interested artists should register for a membership with RAC (Regional Artist Community) for $75, which includes the booth for ARToberfest as well as the opportunity to sell in the Turner Center gift shop and participation in the annual RAC Gallery Exhibit. The deadline for registration has been extended to Oct. 21.

The Turner Center thanks the many sponsors who made this event possible: ACS Real Estate Services, Inc.; Blanton Commons Apartments; Blanton & Griffin Insurance Agency; Center for the Arts Guild; Georgia Council for the Arts; Lamar Advertising of South Georgia; Mala Vallotton; Miller Hardware Company; PAAC – Public Art Advisory Committee; RAC – Regional Artist Community, Renasant Bank; RISE – A Real Estate Company; The Valdosta Daily Times and Valdosta Magazine.

For a schedule and more information on participating in ARToberfest, call (229) 247-2787 or visit turnercenter.org.