Coffee Crawl on Saturday

John Bradley has been organizing art shows for J. & S. Bean in St. Paul for a little over two years now, but he decided he wanted to try something that the whole community could get involved in, especially local artists. At this Saturday’s Coffee Crawl, more than 25 local artists will display their work in a city wide event at an affordable price.

WHAT: Coffee Crawl

WHEN: July 26th, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

WHERE: Coffeehouses around the Twin Cities
FOR MORE INFO: http://coffeecrawl.googlepages.com/home

“There are several shops near University Ave. and Snelling Ave. in St. Paul. However, I’d encourage people to explore some of the shops further out as well.” Bradley said. “The Coffee Grounds in Falcon Heights will be hosting a music festival concurrent to the Coffee Crawl. So we have different locations all over the Twin Cities.” Some of the other coffee shops included are Cahoots, Cosmic and Cupcake in St. Paul, Sister Sludge and Tille’s Bean in Minneapolis and The Studio at Rush Creek in Maple Grove.

Barbara Parisien, an award winning watercolor artist, Carol Card, a locally recognized mixed-media artist and Christine Dietsche and Jennifer Thorpe, who do Latin-influenced work featuring Dios los Muertos offrendas and jewelry are among the featured artists. (Dietsche and Thorpe will display work at Fireroast Cafe in Minneapolis.)

“One really unique artist, Joe Spado, does hand painted custom made snow shoes, as well as sculptural pieces that have Native American influences,” said Bradley, “really beautiful pieces that you won’t see anywhere else.” Everything from fine art to photographs to jewelry will be in the show.

This might be the first annual Coffee Crawl but Bradley hopes to spark people’s interest, get them involved, and help support the artists, who pay a small fee to reserve their space. (Artists’ fees go to cover advertising expenses, but artists get to keep what profit they make.)

“I want art to be an everyday part of people’s lives. Many great artists get excluded from festivals that focus on high end pieces or established artists,” said Bradley. “I’m trying to create an atmosphere were more people can be involved and have a great time participating.”