After Storm Hits Art Fair, $5k Donation to Maple Grove Artists
A major storm that swept through the northwest metro last weekend had a devastating impact on artists participating in the Arbor Lakes Art Fair in Maple Grove.
“Total devastation, there were two major piles of tents, just heaped up,” said Lise Spence-Parsons, executive director of the Maple Grove Arts Center. “Twisted metal, canvas. People who didn’t remove their art — there was broken ceramics, there were prints, there was glass.”
Spence-Parsons says the Arbor Lakes Art Fair had 45 artists booths, and 35 of them were trashed.
The storm, which hit around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 14, damaged much of the art that was up for sale and forced organizers to cancel the second day of the two-day event.
Ceramics at the Arbor Lakes Art Fair that were damaged by Sunday’s storm. Photo courtesy: Chuck Skajewski
Meanwhile, Maple Grove business leaders collected money this week and presented the Arts Center with a $5,000 donation Friday morning to help with the recovery effort.
“Yeah it was really lovely. I’m still emotional about it,” said Spence-Parsons, moments after receiving the money. “The business community has rallied around, and we are receiving donations and offers of help to recover from this. The [Maple Grove] Arts Center will use some of that money to recover for themselves, and they will also hopefully be able to hand some back out to some artists who are in need.”
If you’d like to help, the list of artists who participated in the Arbor Lakes Art Fair is on the event website. Spence-Parsons encourages people to purchase items from the artists’ respective websites.
Otherwise, people can make donations to the Maple Grove Arts Center.
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