The Cherrywood Art Fair turns 15
Since 2002, the fair has provided a showcase and a market for local artists
Mr. Wiz’ Wands demonstrates how his handmade bubble makers work during the 2017 Cherrywood Art Fair at Maplewood Elementary School on Saturday, Dec. 9. Mr. Wiz and his wife dedicate themselves to spreading joy through their work. “We are absolutely thrilled to participate in the fair! The Little Big Artist program is truly amazing,” Mrs. Wiz said. “Maybe next year we’ll get to mentor.” Photo by Sophia Shampton.
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The 15th annual Cherrywood Art Fair took place on Saturday, Dec. 9, with customers flooding into Maplewood Elementary School as soon as the doors opened. The Fair, which debuted in 2002, began as a small nonprofit event to support local Austin artists and soon paired up with the newly formed nonprofit corporation, Chula League; in 2009, the proceeds of the fair were used to fund Chula’s Little Artist Big Artist program and have been designated for that purpose ever since.
Photojournalist Sophia Shampton covered the fair for Macjournalism. If the story of Curly Fry doesn’t make your eyes well up, well then you are made of tougher stuff than we are. We are pleased to share Sophia’s photo story here as the second installment in our weekly Tuesday Top 10 series.
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-600x400.jpg)
![WISHFUL WINDOW SHOPPING: Senior Mia Plemons observes the displays in the MAC during the 5x7 gallery night. Although not a member herself, Plemons feels a connection to the program through her friends and peers. “I have a lot of friends in art,” Plemons said. “And I’ve seen a lot of their work and it’s all really nice and beautiful, and I really enjoy seeing some of the nice pieces people have made.” Plemons didn’t manage to secure a piece of her own, but left impressed by all the ones she saw. “I didn’t [have a favorite], every piece of art I saw was just absolutely breathtaking,” Plemons said. “I think they should definitely do more things like this in the future. I think it’s definitely great for people in the art program to get their art out there and getting experience with making things that people buy.” Caption by Noah Braun. Photo by Lilah Lavigne.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/54188247349_62510240f2_o-e1733894950394-600x488.jpg)
