MCC Festival of the Arts returns to raise money for local artists
Artists at MCC raised money for their businesses by flexing their artistic abilities at the college’s annual Festival of the Arts.
The 11th rendition of the event took place in front of the Southern and Dobson campus’s Theatre on March 20 and featured food from Guac On Up, a local food truck, and a lineup of local musicians from the college community.
Nearly 30 vendors gathered around the lawn by the Theatre from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. to sell a variety of pieces. They ranged from crocheted beanies and tote bags to 3D-printed fidget toys to digital or traditional sketches, according to event coordinator Jessica Bradford, who is also the senior administrative assistant for the Art, Theatre and Communication Department at MCC.
“I think last year was probably our biggest year, because it was the 10th anniversary and we did double, we did a daytime and an evening,” Bradford said. “So this year’s been a little bit smaller, but it’s still been about the same size.”
The lineup of musicians featured several groups and singers from the college as well as musicians from the Disc Jockey program.
Among the art vendors were some new faces to the event and some veteran art vendors, like Maritza Rodriguez, an arts major. Her business is called mama_amor_az and specializes in crocheted items and paintings.
“We’ve been lucky enough to be selling at MCC—this is actually gonna be our fourth market,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez shared that her business was selling well at the festival and highlighted the social environment as her reason for returning each year.
“Everyone’s usually really nice and chill,” Rodriguez said.
Many student attendees walked around with wide, joyous grins on their faces. David Karaffa, a business major, expressed his enthusiasm for the event with passion.
“Honestly, I just love student art, and I actually prefer it over a lot of professional art because it has a lot of stuff that I like,” Karaffa said. “Call me childish for it, but I really like cartoon characters and video game characters and all that.”
All in all, students who attended or didn’t get to attend may be wondering: is it worth braving the unpredictable Arizona weather to come back another year?
“Hell yeah!” Karaffa shouted in response.
Get a glimpse into the event below.
