WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Friday marked the first day of the 65th year for the Fine Arts Fiesta in downtown Wilkes-Barre, and even though it seemed out of the ordinary for the tents to go up and people to come to town, there's a lot of excitement and good vibes around the city.
Sunshine, creativity, and crowds have been missing from Public Square in Wilkes-Barre since the start of the pandemic, but artists who are here selling their work at the Fine Arts Fiesta says there something else here you can't see or hold its a feeling.
"Joy," said Deb Becker. "it's so exciting to be able to do a show again and then to be out with people and to share what I've made all over the last year because I didn't have anything else to do."
"It's great. First of all, I haven't made a nickel in the last, such-and-such year. and I'm close to retirement, so it's just one of these things where I'm really happy," said Bob Matteson of Dragon Studios.
But some artists will tell you it wasn't without difficulty
"I almost forgot how to set up my tent. It's been so long because the last show I had done was an indoor show. And so I hadn't used the tent actually since the fall before that the fall of 2019."
Some of the art you'll see here was inspired by the pandemic
"I did some of the ones with words on with like journey and less, because they were sort of, I don't know, they were sort of meaningful last year."
This is a major milestone for exhibitors at the Fine Arts Fiesta. People who live in Wilkes-Barre say this is a big day for them after seeing the pandemic through the lens of the city over the last year and a half.
"We were walking to Dunkin' the other morning, and we were just so excited that there's activity on the square, and we're just so excited to see people out and still social distancing and having a great time, so we're really excited," said Kings' College senior Cara Henahan.
"We've been here for four years, and we saw the transition from livelihood, and then just total shutdown with COVID and like this is honestly so great to see," added King's College senior Brianna Leung.