Earlier this month, I traveled south to visit family in Virginia and to enjoy a bit of a long, holiday weekend.
When I heard about this event that just so happened to be the same weekend I'd be in Williamsburg, I had to go!
Williamsburg, Virginia has been celebrating artists for 50 years with their annual "An Occasion for the Arts" festival.
Two streets' worth of white-tented booths are lined back to back, filled with artists from all over the country.
Sure, I've been to the noteworthy Birmingham farmers market, and local craft fairs in New Hampshire and the Adirondacks, but never have I seen so many artisans gathered together at once.
Amazing tables made out of leftover materials — I wish I could have brought this propeller table home!
From painting to sculpture to photography to ceramics — every medium imaginable was on display.
Beautifully bright turtle mugs that remind you of summer.
Brilliantly painted still lifes.
Larger than life animal sculptures that grasp your imagination...like the light-up fish in the corner.
Delicate stained glass panes that aim to bring the outdoors inside.
And one of my favorites of the day — these surrealist animal paintings that juxtapose animals in settings that seem correct, but are whimsically impossible habitats.
These beautiful travel photos were so vibrant they don't seem real, and it was hard to walk away without anything from this booth. I wanted one of each!
Perfectly captured candy-striped umbrellas.
Pedro the donkey, covered in snow.
Potato and plaster displays that depicted hilarious skeleton or human scenes, very much reminding me of Coco.
Flower sculptures that would surely confuse any bee on your lawn.
Oh, how I wish I had been able to buy everything I saw!
You'll have to forgive me for not gathering the names of each artist — but this is definitely something to add to your list, though I'd recommend traveling by car so you can take a good haul of items home.