The twentieth annual Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine Fine Arts Festival will be held this year on Saturday, June 1, 2019 in Waukegan, Illinois. Here is a link to additional details about this year's event:
This is a few days after the fact, but the following newspaper article describes the events that occurred at this year's Dandelion Wine Fine Arts Festival, held last Saturday in Ray Bradbury's home town of Waukegan, Illinois. Events relating to Ray included a reading of his play based on his story, "The Whole Town's Sleeping", and having people paint either their idea of what the tennis shoes that played such a prominent role in DANDELION WINE might have looked like, or their own personal favorite tennis shoes:
On Friday, August 9, 2019, at 12 noon, there will be a "lunch and learn" presentation at the Jack Benny Center for the Arts in Waukegan, Illinois. The event, which is free, is called "Waukegan Found in Bradbury's DANDELION WINE". For more information, you can click on the link below:
In coordination with the dedication this past week of the Ray Bradbury statue in Ray's boyhood hometown of Waukegan, the proposed Ray Bradbury Experience Museum in that same city has now launched a $2.5 million fund-raising effort. For more information, you can click on the link below:
Given the pandemic the entire world is currently facing, it has to be uncertain whether the event will occur as planned. However, for the present, the 2020 Ray Bradbury Dandelion Wine Fine Arts Festival is scheduled to be held in Waukegan, Illinois on Saturday, June 13, 2020. The Festival is dedicated to showcasing local and regional artists and venues, championing the arts, and remembering Ray Bradbury, one of Waukegan’s favorite sons. Here is a link to further details about this year's Festival:
It has been announced that while the traditional Ray Bradbury Dandelion Wine Fine Arts Festival, which had been scheduled to take place on June 13, 2020 in Waukegan, has been cancelled, the event will still take place on that date in a virtual format on Facebook so that everyone will be able to "attend". Details are still being worked out, and I will try to post additional information as it becomes available. Here is the announcement that was recently made:
"Dandelion Wine Arts and Music Festival Goes Virtual. Now everyone on Earth, Mars, and beyond can attend the annual Dandelion Wine Arts & Music Festival in Green Town! 'The festival is cancelled in the traditional sense at beautiful Bowen Park in Waukegan due to COVID-19,' says Ty Rohrer, Cultural Arts Manager, Waukegan Park District. 'This year it will go virtual.' Join this Ray Bradbury Tribute Event. You can join on FaceBook Live Saturday, June 13, 2020 from 10:00am–6:00pm CDT for a marathon reading of Dandelion Wine, music, and more. Stay tuned for updates."
Below is a link to an announcement made by the Waukegan Park District on its Facebook page about this year's virtual Ray Bradbury Dandelion Wine Fine Arts Festival. "See" you there!
Below is a link to the latest posting on the Waukegan Park District's website about the 2020 virtual Ray Bradbury Dandelion Wine Fine Arts Festival, available to all via Facebook. This year's festival will be held on June 13, and will include a reading of Ray's novel DANDELION WINE throughout the day by unspecified celebrity guests.
