Photos: Browsing Some of the Country's Hottest Art at Cherry Creek Arts Festival

People clad in red, white and blue braved the Fourth of July temperatures on Friday to look at some of the country's hottest art at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, which last year was named one of the best festivals in the world.

Now in its 34th year, the event is one of the most competitive fine arts festivals in the United States. This year, just over 200 national and international juried artists selected from more than 2,000 applicants are showing off their work in booths lining the Cherry Creek North neighborhood along Second Avenue, Detroit, St. Paul and Steele streets.

The Cherry Creek Arts Festival is hosted by CherryArts, a nonprofit that aims to provide access to art experiences and support art education in Colorado.

Around 150,000 visitors attend the free festival every year, and many of them come to actually buy the art, not just look at it; at the 2024 event, sales averaged $20,629 per artist, with more than $4.6 million in total sales, according to CherryArts.

On July 4, people packed the booths of Nichol Brinkman, a Woodway, Texas-based artist who makes whimsical fiber arts characters; Mick Whitcomb, a Springfield, Missouri-based artist who makes antique-style lightbulbs and other contraptions; and Amy Flynn, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based artist who created Fobots, robots made of found objects.

This was only day one of the event, which continues through Sunday. In addition to art for all tastes, the festival is also jam-packed with food, music, kids' activities and more.

There will be a student buying showcase on Saturday in the Room & Board parking lot, in which students from 24 schools will purchase art to display in their schools.

Meanwhile, live music from fourteen performing artists will light up the Canvas Credit Union Main Stage, with a performance by Cleo Parker Robinson Dance at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Learn more about the Cherry Creek Arts festival Here; keep reading for some photo highlights from the first day of the festival:
The Cherry Creek Arts Festival continues from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 5, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 6, in the Cherry Creek North Neighborhood; 2nd Avenue from Clayton to Adams Street and between 2nd and 3rd avenues from Detroit to Adams streets. The event is free and open to the public.