Friday, November 2
First Friday Food Trucks and Music On Montrose – TC & the Troublemakers Band will play a variety of rock, country and 80’s music with a free concert in City Hall Park starting at 5:30 pm. Food trucks will include: Ritter’s Frozen Custard / Ice Cream, Something Cheesy, Green Machine, 900 Degreez Pizza, Mission Taco, Hayburner, Pokekai Orlando, Crepe d’jour, Snowie Cones, The Big Hot Box, Up In Smoke BBQ, Box On The Road, Poppy’s Mexican, Willy T’s Crabshack, Cajun Sneaux and Dawg House.
Many downtown Clermont stores will be open until 9 pm and some of the Downtown Clermont Art Festival (DCAF) artists and crafters will be available.
Saturday, November 3
Pancake Breakfast: The First United Methodist Church team will provide breakfasts available at DCAF in City Hall Park with hot pancakes, sausage, fruit, juice and brewed coffee from 8 am to 10 am. First United Methodist Church Chef David Earl will supervise this entire event with breakfasts available for only $6 for adults and $4 for children.
Clermont Historic Village Heritage Day: The nearby Clermont Historic 
Village will be offering special demonstrations, kid’s games, dancing and tours from 10 am to 4 pm. Volunteers will be demonstrating chores and lifestyles from 100 years ago. The Judy Family Singers will be entertaining from noon to 2 pm. Some old Ford “Tin Lizzies” will be on display from the early 1900’s. Located just a few blocks from downtown Clermont at 490 West Avenue, the Village offers five buildings that were constructed between 1883 and 1943 as well as two era replicas. Admission is free, while a donation of $2 per person is requested.
12th Annual Downtown Clermont Art Festival (DCAF): The signature event will be held from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, and 9 am to 4 pm on Sunday. It’s free and open to the public. The Clermont Downtown Partnership hosts the event and expects at least 10,000 art collectors and visitors. Numerous talented artists and crafters will be available to personally meet visitors. Participating fine artists will compete for cash prizes across five distinct categories of work: Fine Art 2-D; Fine Art 3-D; Photography; Jewelry; and Fine Crafts. $3,000 will be awarded including $750 for artist judged “Best of Show.
Historic Downtown Clermont has been growing its reputation as a cultural microcosm of unique shops, diverse restaurants, galleries, and the arts. 2017 Best of Show Award Winner Ward Siegler will be the Featured Artist with his fine art jewelry creations.
Sidewalk Chalk Art Event & Kid’s Zone: The streets of Downtown
Clermont, as well as City Hall Park, will become a huge canvas for this family-friendly event. This event is free and open to the public. The purpose of this Chalk Art Contest is to inspire children, teens, adults, and art aficionados to celebrate the creativity of art while embracing positive influences that help shape their world and the quality of life in our community. The Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest registration will begin at 9 am, with the competition from 10 am to 1 pm. Sponsors will provide art papers, chalk and a bottle of water, while they last. The four age categories will be 6-10; 11-14; 15-18 and 19-Adults. Prizes and award ribbons will be awarded to the winners in the four age categories at 2 pm at the Clermont City Hall Park.
This Chalk Art Competition will be hosted by the Clermont Downtown Partnership and sponsored by Lake Apopka Natural Gas. Advanced registration for one of the spots is highly recommended by visiting www.ClermontDowntownPartnership.com.
Sunday, November 4
Farmer’s Market and DCAF (continued): The Clermont Farmer’s Market will be held along with the Art Festival from 9 am to 4 pm. Visitors will enjoy live entertainment, food and shopping within Downtown Clermont’s shops and restaurants.
A special Kids Art Zone will have plenty of fun activities for the kids at the City Hall Park. Children will enjoy bounce houses and face painting. There will be a special coloring contest with noted author James Baumann at 2 pm.
Downtown Clermont Art Festival (DCAF) is sponsored by the Clermont Downtown Partnership, the City of Clermont and Gloria James Event Rentals. For more information, visit:www.ClermontDowntownPartnership.com or contact Sandy Farnsworth, Executive Director of the CDP at: Sandy@ClermontDowntownPartnership.com, 352-617-8788.
Larry Oskin is a contributor writer for the South Lake Tablet, is the owner of Marketing Solutions / Art Beautique, is a board member of the Clermont Downtown Partnership and a volunteer for the Clermont Historic Village.
