Saturday, August 6 marks the 20th Annual Art in the Garden Festival at Ballard P-Patch, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the garden: 8527 25th Ave. NW. Admission is free.

More than a dozen local artists will have their work on display and available for purchase. In addition, all the traditional favorite activities will be on hand: beer garden, ice cream vendor, kids’ activities – as well as the bake sale, art auction, handmade quilt raffle, and wine grab fundraiser.

Live music is back this year! There will be Scandinavian, Cajun, country, originals – something for everyone – running the whole day. See the lineup and a schedule on the Ballard P-Patch website: https://www.ballardppatch.org/musicians-page1.html.

As part of its community-focused mission, Ballard P-Patch will also be holding a hygiene drive for Ballard Food Bank at their booth. Festival goers are encouraged to bring donations of toothpaste, soap, laundry detergent, etc. Garden volunteers are looking forward to collecting these items and delivering them to the Food Bank. See Ballard Food Bank’s Amazon wish list for items that are needed: https://amzn.to/3BEBJc9. 

Nature, plants, and community figure prominently as themes for this small, neighborhood festival. Artist booths feature household goods, prints, jewelry, and decorative objects all inspired by the natural world. Fresh fruit pies, home-baked by garden volunteers, are always popular. And don’t forget the garden itself: stroll the pathways and enjoy the flowers and abundance – all grown with sustainable, organic practices. 

The annual festival is just one of the ways Ballard P-Patch contributes to a feeling of community in its north-Ballard neighborhood. Other examples include the Giving Garden program, where volunteers meet weekly to maintain and harvest crops for the Ballard Food Bank, as well as maintenance of the space as an emergency hub for the neighborhood—a place for gathering and shelter in case of natural disaster. 

Ballard P-Patch is grateful for the support of many local businesses in hosting Art in the Garden this year: Maritime Pacific Brewing Co., Picolinos Ristorante, Tall Grass Bakery, Town & Country Markets, Verity Credit Union, Windermere Real Estate, Swanson’s Nursery, Fred Meyer, Trader Joe’s, Walt’s Organic Fertilizer Co., US Foods Chef’Store, Oberto Specialty Meats, QFC, and Majestic Bay Theatres.

For the latest info about Art in the Garden, visit https://www.ballardppatch.org/