Photos: Thousands of pieces of art on display at the 35th Cherry Creek Arts Festival

People sipped on cold drinks and licked popsicles as they checked out thousands of pieces of fine art at the 35th Cherry Creek Arts Festival, a repeat winner of the Gold Grand Pinnacle Award for best festival.

The highly anticipated annual event is one of the most competitive fine arts festivals in the United States. This year’s festival, which runs over the Fourth of July weekend from Friday, July 3, through Sunday, July 5, features 265 juried artists selected from a pool of almost 2,000 applicants.

This year’s artists include 37 from Colorado, four from countries outside the U.S., and 80 who are exhibiting at the festival for the first time. Mediums exhibited include paintings, photography, textiles, jewelry, instruments, sculptures and more.

Last year, the festival was attended by 150,000 people, with the more than 200 juried artists who participated in 2025 reporting $4.5 million in sales. Individual artists earned an average of $17,470.

The festival is put on by the nonprofit CherryArts, which supports arts education and outreach programs.

“Over the past 35 years, we’ve grown the Cherry Creek Arts Festival into one of Colorado’s largest and most beloved annual art events,” said Tara Brickell, executive director of CherryArts. “We’re thrilled we’ve reached this milestone, all in service of bringing art experiences to Coloradans all year long, especially in Colorado schools.”

For the third year, CherryArts awarded five emerging artists a $5,000 Emerging Artist grant of unrestricted funds to support their work, along with a mentor program and a booth at the festival.

Each year, CherryArts also gives $500 to dozens of Colorado students to purchase original works of art for permanent display in their schools. This art-buying experience is the culmination of an in-school art curriculum that teaches art appreciation and the business of art.

Meanwhile, 13 acts will perform over the three-day event at the Canvas Credit Union Main Stage on Fillmore near 1st Ave., including Mary Louise Lee Band, The Reminders, and Chris Daniel and the Kings.

In addition to the live music and endless art to look at, the event also includes auctions, live painting, activities for children and plenty of food and drink vendors.

Here are some photos from the 35th Cherry Creek Arts Festival:

The Cherry Creek Arts Festival continues from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 4, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 5 in the Cherry Creek North Neighborhood; 2nd Avenue from Clayton to Adams streets and between 2nd and 3rd avenues from Detroit to Steele streets. Click here for a festival map. The event is free and open to the public.