Celebrate Over 50 Years of Art and Community at the Boston Mills ArtFest

For more than half a century, some of the finest artwork in the nation has gathered to grace the green, summertime slopes of the Boston Mills ski resort in Peninsula, and this year is no different.

Celebrating 51 years in 2025, the Boston Mills ArtFest runs June 28 and 29 and July 4 through 6, with exclusive preview celebrations on June 27 and July 3. Across the two weekends, a total of 300 artists from over 35 states will exhibit pieces in 18 different mediums, accompanied by live music and a selection of food and drink.

“This is our biggest summer event every single year,” says Jake Campbell, general manager of Boston Mills, Brandywine and Alpine Valley ski resorts. “It really brings the community together. We get to bring back a lot of our staff from the winter season and then have a relationship with the artists and the guests that come back.”

The festival, which was developed by the owners of Boston Mills and prominent Akron sculptor Don Drumm, has seen a lot of change since its inception in 1974. Boston Mills ArtFest was originally dominated by watercolor and plein air artists, and, due to the renaissance festival craze of the late 1960s and early 1970s, saw artists dressing up in costume to sell their wares.

George Whitten, the current director of Boston Mills ArtFest and a former exhibitor, first got involved in 1975 and remembers those early years of the popular event.

“When ArtFest began, the tents were a lot smaller; they were like circus tents. And in bad weather, the center pole would be banging up and down in a huge windstorm,” Whitten says. “Today, the tents are all modern [and] there are no poles in the middle of the grounds. The venue is perfect.”

But what hasn’t changed — and what transformed the event into a longstanding community tradition — is the camaraderie that keeps artists, visitors and resort staffers coming back each year.

“There’s a couple artists that we still have that have been doing the show since its inception,” Whitten says. “They always tell me we’ve got the best crew. If it rains, they take care of things. We have artists that come every year from all over, because this is like a mecca — you meet all your friends here.”

While ArtFest exhibitors no longer dress up in costume, their creativity and passion remains palpable. Before the show, a jury of award-winning artists sift through thousands of entries to select outstanding work in each of the 18 medium categories, which include painting, sculpting, ceramics, jewelry, photography, computer art and much more.

On the hospitality side, Boston Mills offers a special Preview Party experience the night before each festival weekend begins. Guests can purchase tickets for an all-inclusive package of live music, craft drinks and a catered buffet from Market District, with everything from bacon wrapped Andouille sausage to strawberry Chantilly almond cake.

After the previews, regular festival days run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Chat with artists, enjoy live music from different acts each day and peruse a range of food and drink options at the cafeteria during this festival that is brimming not just with art but with heart. 

“You're just coming home,” Whitten says. “You know your way around the valley. You know your way around the park and the patrons, the people that you meet.”

For more information about Boston Mills ArtFest, visit bmbw.com.

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