Penrod Arts Fair and Evening with Penrod are back next weekend

INDIANAPOLIS — The Penrod Arts Fair, one of the largest annual events in Indianapolis, returns on September 11.

After canceling last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, "Indiana's Nicest Day" (as the event is commonly referred to) is back at Newfields for its 54th year.

Fair-goers can experience the work of over 300 artists at five different entertainments stages. There will also be about 50 "artist-related" organizations at the fair, according to the Penrod Society, and a children's area.

“We are excited to be back this year in full force to continue our mission of supporting and celebrating the arts,” Ryan Evans, chairman of the Penrod Arts Fair, stated in a release. “The pandemic prevented us from holding our events in 2020, but that did not slow us down in supporting our traditional grant recipients.”

Proceeds from ticket sales from both the Penrod Art Fair and Evening with Penrod, the night preceding the fair, go back into the central Indiana arts community through grants, according to the Penrod Society.

Such grants help support the local art community, as it did last year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Penrod Society says it was able to award up to 66 grants to central Indiana organizations that totaled more than $125,000. Recipients included Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Indiana, Heartland Film Festival, Indiana Black Expo, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library and the Phoenix Theatre.

“With The Penrod Society’s support, our organization holds several canvas painting activities and recruitment events for the Supportive Mentoring through Art (SMART) program in partnership with the Indianapolis Art Center every year,” Amy Pomeranz Essley, the chief program officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters, stated in a release to WRTV. “These events are so important for youth in our program to have another creative outlet and begin to grow their artistic talents, as well as providing an avenue for mentoring relationships to grow together.”