LEWISTON—The Lewiston Art Festival starts later this week and will be bigger than ever, as it plays host to not only some of the best artwork of 175 professional and student artists from 13 states, but also introduces a new attraction within the festival—Ribfest.

Now in its 44th year, the annual event sponsored by the Lewiston Council on the Arts runs from 10 a. m. to 6 p. m. Saturday and Sunday on Center Street.

It’s a competitive art festival, which includes work in eight categories of painting, photography, graphic art, sculpture, artistic crafts and jewelry, with $5,000 in prize money donated by Modern Corp.

For a second year, Center Street will be closed from Fourth to Eighth streets to create a more pedestrian-friendly festival, and the streets will be filled with art, music and food.

In addition to some of the traditional festival foods, this year the Lewiston/Niagara on the Lake Rotary Club will host its first “Art of the Ribs” Festival in Academy Park, at Center and Ninth streets.

The festival within a festival is a professional barbecue event with more than seven “ribbers” from Western New York and Ontario displaying barbecue items in their vending booths and competing for the People’s Choice Award, which will be judged by the Certified Kansas City Barbecue Society judges. Those attending will also be asked to participate in the judging.

Vendors include: Horn Dawgs, Blazin’ BBQ, Alex’s BBQ, Bad 2 the Bone, Big Bad Wolf BBQ, and the Late Mrs. Ribs. A variety of music will be offered in Academy Park as well as other nonbarbecue food vendors.

The ribfest runs from 10 a. m. to 10 p. m. on Saturday and 10 a. m. to 8 p. m. Sunday. Proceeds will be donated to Mount St. Mary’s Hospital.

Back at the Art Festival, students from nine high schools across the region will compete on Saturday in the popular annual “Key Bank Chalk Walk” competition. Judging ends at 4 p. m. and there is a people’s choice award.

Nationally known Lewiston artist Julie Silver will offer sculpture demonstration each day from noon to 4 p. m., and also featured this year will be New York City graffiti artist Ron “Kezam” Kramer, who along with Jean Jain and Robin Faulring are judges for the chalk walk.

Kramer’s work is featured in this year’s Art Festival T-shirt design, which is available at the information booth at Fifth and Center streets.

Also featured will be local artist Penny Mount Pleasant- Henning, a Native American Cayuga artist who sculpts stylized figurines in paper and clay to capture true Iroquois features, then embellishes them in authentic dress.

Children are invited to get creative with free art activities throughout the weekend in the First Niagara ArtZone and create a chalk mural of their own, and on Sunday the Castellani Art Museum will host a Make and Take workshop for children of all ages.

Music will flow with the art, with strolling musicians throughout the weekend and free performances both days at the Hennepin Park Gazebo at Fourth and Center streets and at the Frontier House on Center Street, between Fourth and Fifth streets. Also offered will be poetry readings in the Peace Garden Courtyard behind the Frontier House at 12:30 and at 4 p. m. Sunday, sponsored by Bob’s Olde Books.

nfischer@buffnews.comnull