Shine House holds first of three summer art carnivals

Jun. 3—Ever been to an art carnival? If you missed it this past Friday, you still have multiple opportunities this summer.

The first Shine House Art Carnvival was held in downtown Somerset Friday evening, offering plenty of ways to create and have fun under the summertime sun.

This event will be hosted the first Friday of June, July, and August, so July 7 and August 4 dates are still on the calendar.

The Shine House, located at 402 North Main Street, is a non-profit community arts center that looks to provide instruction in a variety of art forms, provide a place for local arts to exhibit and sell their work, and more.

"We used to do the masquerade ball, but we wanted to be all-inclusive, because we're an all-inclusive community center," said Helser-Sellers. "So what we wanted to do was invite all ages and all abilities to experience art."

The event featured a number of interactive art activities and workshops, from painting bucket hats and playful painting to making things like instruments and plaster creatures and theme mosaics. Most notably, however was the community art project, where anyone could purchase tickets, jump in, and make a contribution by putting paint to canvas.

This past Friday, the background was the focus; next time, contributing artists will be working on the foreground, and at the third festival, the three interactive art pieces will be auctioned off, including the community work, to raise money for the Shine House and its programs during the 2023-24 season.

There were also vendors for arts and handmade items, popcorn, and more, adding to the fun festival atmosphere stretching from the front of the house on North Main Street to the back facing Vine Street.

Bradley Shane Gilmore was one of the local artists to come out and take part. He called the event "pretty fantastic and colorful," and said that it's come together "extremely" well.

Gilmore brought a most unique instrument with him, which he had named Talula, a large and colorful contraption built by Gilmore out of of random pieces of metal.

"I run (it) through a pedal rig and play sci-fi music with it," said Gilmore. "I call it 'Sci-Fi Soul.'"

The first art carnival drew a healthy crowd on a warm June evening, but Helser-Sellers wants to see it grow and develop just like the art pieces at the heart of it.

"We're hoping that July is bigger and more people come out," she said. "This is huge fun. We're doing lots of stuff."