The Summer Festival is YSU’s thriving artistic tradition

It is difficult to count the ways in which Youngstown State University contributes to the betterment of the Mahoning Valley.

Beyond a century of tradition in furthering the education of area residents and its role as an economic engine for the Valley, the university is a center of artistic, historic and cultural expression.

And this weekend the visual and performing arts are once again on display on campus and at nearby museums. The Butler Institute of American Art and the McDonough Art Museum to the Arms Museum of Family History, the nearby Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor (the Steel Museum), the new OH WOW! Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science and Technology downtown, and others will have their doors open this weekend. There is something for every interest and every age.

The Summer Festival of the Arts has been a tradition on he YSU campus, with other nearby institutions joining in, since the late 1990s. Each year it attracts a new contingent of admirers.

The nearby the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church is holding its Summerfest in conjunction with the festival, but right on campus there will once again be the Festival of Nations, featuring booths of more than 20 ethnic clubs and churches.

Fine art for sale

In the center of campus, local, regional and national artists will be selling their wares, including paintings, photography, jewelry, metalwork, decorative and utilitarian ceramics and artistic interpretations in wood and textiles.

Children can create their own art under the supervision of an art teacher at the hands-on tent.

And, of course, on a campus that is host to the Dana School of Music there will be music — lots of it and across a broad spectrum.

Harrison Common, a newly constructed public space at Youngstown State University, will be the setting for a free jazz festival Saturday evening featuring local and national recording artists.

Dozens of other music, theater and dance performances are scheduled on the campus grounds throughout the weekend festival.

All of that is just a sample. A complete list of activities appeared in a tabloid in yesterday’s Vindicator, there will be another recap in Thursday’s paper and the YSU website has an extensive section devoted to the festival.

For thousands of Mahoning Valley families, the Summer Festival of the Arts has become a tradition. Everyone else should give it a try. There is no better or more economical way to get a sense of what YSU and its nearby cultural and historic attractions have to offer.