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Welcome!THANK YOU for attending the 33rd Annual Arbutus Arts Festival, the largest one day festival held in the State of Maryland. The Arbutus Arts Festival Committee, the crafters, artists, vendors, and the hundreds of volunteers that make this Festival such a success are delighted that you are here to enjoy the fruits of their hard work. Please explore all of our activities, which are carefully selected and balanced so as to have something pleasing for all ages and interests.The Arbutus Business and Professional Association, Inc. (ABPA) is the parent organization for the Arbutus Arts Festival Committee. The ABPA sponsors numerous charitable and community service activities of benefit to the Arbutus area. Current activities include: scholarships for Arbutus area high school Seniors to help them pay for college; The annual Santa House; Holiday Music in the shopping district; support for numerous other non-profit and charitable organizations; as well as providing regular beautification, grass cutting, seasonal decorations, and maintenance of the sidewalks, gardens, and grounds in the Arbutus shopping district. The ABPA meets once a month and welcomes guests and potential new members. If you own a business or are a professional in the Arbutus area, you are eligible for membership, and I invite you to join. The ABPA can be contacted via our website at www.abpa.ws or at ABPA, P.O. Box 7357, Arbutus, Maryland 21227, or call 410-242-4642. As you stroll around Arbutus, take note of the small town main street atmosphere, the (mostly) free parking, and the many businesses and professionals that are here to welcome you year round. They would be pleased if you would return to Arbutus after the Festival to visit, work, live, or to patronize one of our many businesses and professionals. I assure you that Arbutus has a genuinely friendly neighborhood spirit, and you will be treated with courtesy and respect that harken back to days gone by. Thank you for reading this. Now, enjoy the Festival. Terrence M. Nolan President, ABPA, Inc. 
Do You Remember? Here are some facts that occurred in 1974..................... Sears tower in Chicago was completed and was named the World’s Tallest Building. Best Picture was "Godfather II". Song of the year was "The Joker" by Steve Miller. The Fad of the year was "Streaking". Bread was $1.39, Postage stamps were 10 cents, 1/2 gal. of Milk was 78 cents. Miami won the Super Bowl. Jack Benny, Bud Abbott and Ed Sullivan passed away. And Jeff Utzinger wasn't even born yet ...............welllllllll 99% of the above is true. However, one event occurred in May of 1974 that stands alone. It was the Grand Opening of what would grow into the State of Maryland's largest 1 day outdoor festival, THE ARBUTUS ARTS FESTIVAL. Thanks to the planners of 1974, The Arbutus Arts Festival was a hit right out of the gate and continues to set the standard for outdoor craft shows. It continually sells out (crafters) year after year with 65% bookings for the following year sold during the current festival. Our crafters travel from as far south as Miami and from as far north as Connecticut to attend this festival. Our food vendor's menu runs from Funnel Cakes to Shrimp Salad and everything in between. Beverages served range from cold bottled water to Ice Cold Beer, (beer sold exclusively in our beer garden). Most vendors sell bottled coke also. Please try to visit all of our crafters. The stands begin right outside the Children's Corner (Super Fresh Lot) and run all the way down good old East Drive to the Hollywood Movie. If you need help or directions or assistance in any way, please stop anyone you might see in the crowd wearing a light blue Arbutus Arts Festival shirt and holding a police style radio. They will assist you with any request you may have. Our Arbutus Business Association and Arts Festival committee thank you and our neighbors of Arbutus for making this another memorable festival. Norman Drohan Chairman Arbutus Arts Festival
It seems it was just last month that we were planning for last year's Arts Festival. Now it's time for the 33rd annual Arbutus Arts Festival. May 21st is the date set for this year's festival. Once again, we will be having approximately 240 crafters lining the streets of Arbutus. The festival attracts crafters from all along the East Coast, from as far away as Florida. Our Allocations chairperson works hard trying to maintain a high quality of crafters. Don't forget to stop by the beer garden located at the bottom of Maple Avenue to take advantage of our $1.00 beers. Next to the beer garden, we will have a stage with two bands playing throughout the day for your listening pleasures. Our goal in planning the festival is to try to have something for all age groups. We have everything from rides for the kids, crafters for the shoppers in the family, bands for the music lovers and food for everyone. A lot of planning goes into putting together an event of this size. I would like to send my thanks out to everyone who has a part in making this festival such a great success. The hard-working committee is made up of a group of local volunteers who spend numerous hours to make this festival such a great event. We hope that everyone can attend our festival. If anyone has any questions throughout the day, the committee will be wearing gold shirts with red lettering, keeping in true colors of Arbutus football. So don't hesitate to stop them and share your feelings. Thank you and I hope to see everyone on the 15th of May! Cross your fingers and hope for great weather! Jeff Utzinger Director Arbutus Arts Festival |