Buzzing with Delight: A Week of Plein Air
Plein Air Weekend 2025
Fresh off the 18th annual Plein Air Weekend, August 1-2, 2025 — artists, buyers, lookers-on, event volunteers are abuzz with delight and gratitude for the highly successful event. Friday and Saturday evenings the town hall was packed with appreciative audiences and happy creatives who painted 2, 3, 5 paintings over the course of the two-day event. 112 artists participated and a record number of people came to see their works.
Numerous volunteers shepherded the whole activity from registration back in March to take down of the last table and chair in the town hall Saturday night. Organized by Georgia Gietzen and Rita Witler, now in their fifth year, the artists beamed at the care lavished on them – snacks, boxed lunches, picture framing stations, to name a few – and relished in the interactions they experienced with fellow artists, appreciators and patrons.
This year there was a record number of sponsors including several local businesses, service providers and individual donors. Scroll down to view their names and please return their kindness by supporting them with your patronage.
Thanks too to the local media for covering the event. The Glen Arbor Sun’s feature by Katie Dunn, “Plein Air Painting: Chasing light across the landscape,” is a great piece giving an overview of the event and its rich history.
Youth Plein Air Month
As if the Plein Air Weekend isn’t more than enough to celebrate … there’s more to buzz about … the first ever YOUTH Plein Air Month wrapped up at their gathering and awards ceremony on Thursday evening, July 31, the night before the Plein Air Weekend began.
146 plein air kits were loaned to young artists during July!!! The kits included an easel, canvases, paints … everything needed to get outdoors and create. And create they did! 58 artists submitted their works to the final show held during the last week of July in the classroom gallery at the Arts Center. Eight paintings were awarded special recognition by two of their peer judges at the awards ceremony and then hung in the town hall throughout the Plein Air Weekend.
This initial month-long event was inspired by enduring visions and turned out to be more successful and meaningful than anyone predicted. Not only were there more young artists who engaged with the creative materials than anticipated, but a special sense of community formed among the young artists as they checked in during the month and took part in the “Meet A Plein Air Artist Day” day where they watched demos and received encouragement from professional artists.
Let’s not be surprised to see some of these young artists participate in future Plein Air Weekends!
Sponsors
Plein Air Weekend Sponsors
Devette & Ford Insurance Agency
Dean & Jill Bosco
Crystal River Pilates
Staged to Sell / Staged to Live
Youth Plein Air Sponsors
Michigan Architectural Foundation
Amy L. Clark-Carels Fund: “Kindness”