16 Sep Local Artists Alley Presented by the Boll Weevil and 4P Studios
This year has been a challenge on many levels. From power access to layout, but we are working hard to make this year’s festival the best It can be!
One of the better outcomes is our new partnerships with local businesses within the festival. So many locally owned businesses are excited to be within the festival grounds. A big perk is the number of patrons we see in a day, but some others are free advertising in the catalog, on your website and social media while also making new friends and building a bigger network.
This year the Arts Council was really driven to find a way to incorporate a “local artists alley.” Not every artist is cut out for the festival market lifestyle. It’s grueling work setting up and breaking down what is essentially a mini-art gallery of your own work. Not to mention being out in the elements (in Georgia Fall that can be anything from humidity to rain to bugs to sweltering heat). It’s also a big task to create enough work for a 2.5 day festival. Your booth has to look full, interesting and welcoming to draw the crowd in. Many of the Fine Arts and Crafts applications we see come from traveling artists who do the festival life year round. The local artists we have that are prepared for a festival like this know it’s a big task. We want grow our local pool by giving local artists the opportunity to participate and learn about what it takes to be an festival ready, arts marketeer. After all, the Arts Council is all about growing our local arts community.
Finding a partner to help facilitate that this year was a challenge. Local organizers of big events know the struggle of finding the right person for the job or the right space for what you are trying to build. This year, by the skin of our teeth, we have matched two local businesses who (we think) are the perfect fit.
The Boll Weevil, under the new ownership of Rafael Gonzalez, has been working with the festival trying to activate their back parking lot. The building itself has new owners too and they are doing a lot to the space and have some big dreams for the back buildings and lot. However, everyone we had reached out to has declined activating the space, mostly due to time constraints.
In tandem with this, the Arts Council was looking for indoor options for a “local artists alley” as well as a manager for that area, to no avail.
Then, like destiny, 4P Studios reached out expressing interest in participating. So, we introduced them to the Boll Weevil. In a last minute dash to the finish line sort of way, we now have two local businesses working together with the festival to create a new feature: the Local Artists Alley presented by the Boll Weevil and 4P Studios. We are so thrilled to be able to share the news with our arts loving patrons. This new area will highlight local artists, feature local musicians, and not to mention, the beer truck supported by AB Beverage.This will be an amazing addition to the ranks of our Fine Arts and Crafts Market and we hope its the start of a great friendship that helps to build a new generation of arts marketeers.
4P Studios is putting in the work to secure visual artists and crafts people, a local musician is booking buskers, and Boll Weevil is working hard to get the lot ready. Look for their a-frame sign by the Boll Weevil, and don’t forget you can beat the lines and stop inside the restaurant for a yummy sandwich, sweet dessert and a cool breeze of AC.
Featured Artists include:
Vendors:
4P Studios (Artwork Sales & Live Pottery on the Wheel Demos) with live pottery wheel demonstrations by Regina, Ari, J, Harrison, Stacey, Andrew, Sydney, and Sun
Moth & Magpie (Raffle & Live Etching Demos)
Michael Rushbrook (Paintings, Drawings, & Prints)
Rufus Cooper (Paintings)
Arielle Anfield (Paintings)
Theron Cartwright (Paintings & Prints)
Shayna Wheeler (Paintings)
Cameron Miller – Novel Wonder (Written Live Poetry)
Performers:
Cary Brown – Vitamin Ace
Amethyst Robinson
Ariana Williams
Kris Fisher
Lamar Morgan
Brian Yonn
About the Boll Weevil:
The Boll Weevil Café and Sweetery is more than a restaurant—it’s a piece of Augusta’s living history. The building itself, with its original hand-hewn beams, was constructed before 1850 as one of many cotton warehouses along the city’s busy riverfront. By the 1870s, the railroads had arrived, and across the street—where the Marriott Suites now stands—the Charleston and Western Carolina Railroad once operated a bustling terminal.
In 1919, a young freight clerk named Frederick Harrison saw new potential in the abandoned cotton sheds. He founded Reliable Transfer Company, using mule-drawn wagons to deliver freight from the railroad to downtown businesses. His office was located in what is now the café’s red dining room, once kept warm by a potbellied stove tucked inside its arched wall.
The decades brought both hardship and reinvention. A fire in the 1930s destroyed the rear of the building, a tornado later tore at its façade, and by the 1950s it was used as storage for T.R. Maxwell Furniture, run by Frederick’s son, Fred Jr. In 1990, grandson George Harrison gave the property new life once again—this time as a restaurant. With neighboring eateries already named Cotton Row and Cotton Patch, he chose a cheeky, ironic name: The Boll Weevil, after the cotton-devouring insect. In spite of its industrial location, dead-end street, and bug-inspired name, the café thrived and became a beloved Augusta institution.
Now under new ownership, the story continues. The building is proudly held by the Azalea Group, while restaurateur Raf Gonzalez leads the restaurant itself, bringing fresh energy and vision to a time-honored favorite. While honoring its legacy of chef-prepared dishes, house-baked breads, and legendary desserts, the Boll Weevil is stepping boldly into its next chapter—rooted in history, yet always evolving.
For more info visit: https://thebollweevil.com/
About 4P Studios:
4P Studios lives by the belief that everything is art, and art is everything. Dedicated to helping people discover their creative spark, the studio offers a welcoming space to explore new skills, dive into hands-on expression, and share a piece of heart and soul through art.
The Martinez gallery features year-round exhibitions of locally made 2-D and 3-D works, giving the community a place to enjoy and collect art from regional talent. The studio itself is a hub of learning and creativity, offering workshops, group classes, and private lessons in painting, photography, pottery, printmaking—the “four P’s”—and more. From beginners to experienced artists, everyone can find opportunities to grow and create.
In addition to instruction, the Pottery Studio provides space for crafting both functional and decorative works, while custom framing services ensure that every piece is displayed at its best.
4P Studios has become a true home for art—where making, learning, and living creatively come together. Visit https://www.4pstudiosart.com for more info!