Brief History of our First Sunday Art Festivals

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In 2001 the seed was planted after two galleries on West Street held art receptions at the same time both on the first Sunday of the month. In 2002, other businesses on the first block of West Street joined in and the event started filling the sidewalks of West Street. It went from an evening event into an all-day event known as First Sunday Arts Festival.

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In 2003 West Street was closed in front of the two businesses for some much needed public works improvements. During this time of no car access, the event moved into the street. By the time the West Street construction was finished the event was so large it required the street to be closed on all First Sundays from May to October.

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In 2008 the event was maxed out and no room was left for new vendors on the first block of West Street that wanted to showcase their arts and crafts to the thousands now attending. We also wanted an area that could host larger groups for performances, so we added Peoples Park on Calvert Street to the festival site.

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In 2009 the area under the trees on the corner of West and Calvert Streets, across from City Gate Lane was added to the festival to give a little bit more room and fill in the gap between the two larger festival areas.

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In 2015 the festival continued to grow adding the month of December to the line up and giving it a special family friendly theme the "Annapolis Chocolate Binge Festival."

 

Today you can visit booths showcasing jewelry, art, antiques, and more, every first Sunday of the month, from May to December.​

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We look forward to continuing to evolve and seeing you at the next First Sunday Arts Festival.

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