Wow! The Austin community knows how to embrace the arts. Last weekend, we welcomed an estimated 9,000 festival goers to the Austin ArtWorks Festival — a new record! Thank you to individuals, businesses and organizations for supporting this event with your time, talent and treasure.

Congratulations to 2018 Austin ArtWorks Festival award winners. The Purchase Award went to photographer Vince Quast of Shakopee, Minnesota. Vince’s photo, “Water Over Rocks,” was selected by Purchase Award donors Jeff and Kris Baldus and will be displayed in the new Austin Community Recreation Center.

The City Award was selected by City Council members Janet Anderson and Steve King and was given to textile artist Don Tran of St. Louis, Missouri.

The Austin Artworks Festival is put on each year by a committee of 11 volunteers. The Visual Artists committee recruits and serves the exhibiting artists each year. This committee, led by co-chairs Barb Mitchell and Jennifer Forbes,  also selects three artists to receive awards. In 2018, the awards were given to painter Bob McGill of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, painter Mary Nordeng of Rose Creek, Minnesota, and textile artist William Sumner of Princeton, Minnesota.

Gail Weber, the publisher of TOSCA magazine, gave the TOSCA award to ceramic artist Dan Larsen of Hayfield, Minnesota.

One new feature at the Austin ArtWorks Festival was the Student Exhibit. Committee volunteers visited school-based art shows at Austin High School, Banfield Elementary, Ellis Middle School, I.J. Holton Intermediate School, Neveln Elementary, New Dominion School (Gerard Academy), Pacelli Catholic Schools, Southgate Elementary and Sumner Elementary. Students at each show were awarded the ArtWorks Festival Award blue ribbon and were invited to exhibit work at the Austin ArtWorks Festival. Sponsors Potach and Mitchell Dental viewed the exhibit in the Paramount Annex and gave $50 cash awards to three student artists: Rosie Meh (elementary), Lauren Murphy (middle school) and Cynder Higgins (high school).

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the event this year with a special shout out to Mayo Clinic Health System Albert Lea Austin; Kris and Jeff Baldus; Austin Utilities; the City of Austin; Jeff and LeeAnn Ettinger;  KMSU Minnesota State University, Mankato; Hormel Historic Home; Hy-Vee of Austin; Stephen Palen, Adam Palen; Private Wealth Group, Ameriprise Financial; Bonnie and Tim Rietz and Jim and Tammy Snee.

Be sure to mark your calendar for the 2019 Austin ArtWorks Festival on Aug. 24 and 25.

Coming soon at the Paramount Theatre

•$5 Movie, “American in Paris,” 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 5

• Scott Jasmin: Small Town Songs, 7:30 p.m., Sept. 8

•$5 Movie, “It Happened One Night,” 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12

•$5 Movie, “The Birds” 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12

•Rollin’ in the Aisles Comedy Showcase with David Harris, 7:30 p.m., Sept. 22

Coming soon at the ArtWorks Center

•Gallery opening: Wendy Heimsness, 5-7 p.m., Sept. 7

•$5 Spanish Kids Studio-Picture Frames, 10:30 a.m., Sept. 8

•Basic Wheel Throwing (Clay) with John Sullivan, 5:30 p.m., Sept. 31