The Butternut Valley Alliance’s banner depicts a stained-glass creation by Tom Washbon of Morris and welcomes visitors to “On the Trail of Art.” (Submitted photo)

GILBERTSVILLE – Butternut Valley Alliance will hold its fourth annual “On the Trail of Art” Festival June 8 and 9.  This year’s event will take place in the Texas Schoolhouse State Forest in New Lisbon, as it did in 2022, this year’s half-mile scenic trail will be shorter and more level. 

The trail will feature student artists from Edmeston, Gilbertsville-Mount Upton and Morris Central schools. In addition, local artists with a connection to the Butternut Valley will exhibit their works. Strolling musicians, art demonstrations and “participation art” opportunities will also be part of the festival.  As a new addition this year, there will be theater and dance performances, as well as a treasure hunt for crystal balls, on a “finders-keepers” basis. 

By organizing the outdoor art festival, BVA seeks to integrate art with the natural environment, promote Butternut Valley artists, highlight and bring visitors to public lands and build community within the Butternut Valley. Located in western Otsego County, the Butternut Valley refers to the watershed of the Butternut Creek, which flows from the Town of Exeter to its confluence with the Unadilla River in the Town of Butternuts.

Admission to the event is free; however, to allow for proper spacing, reservations are required and may be made at BVA’s website, www.ButternutValleyAlliance.org.  The reservation site closes 24 hours in advance of the event, but last-minute arrivals will be accommodated as spacing is available. 

Visitors will be provided with a map and program listing participants and artwork locations at the welcome tent.  Volunteers will be onsite throughout the event to assist visitors as needed.  Footwear appropriate for trail-walking is recommended. The trail head may be accessed by googling “Texas Schoolhouse State Forest Jones Road parking area.”

Approximately 125 public school and homeschool students have pieces in the plein air exhibit. They were assisted by their art teachers and used materials provided by BVA, with the help of a substantial in-kind donation of acrylic paints and other materials from Golden Artist Colors in New Berlin.

The art festival is also an Otsego Outdoors Spring Octet Challenge event. Information on participation in this program is available https://otsegooutdoors.org/our-challenge/.

“On the Trail of Art” is funded by the Earlville Opera House’s “Arts in the Community” grants program, made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts and by the Upper Susquehanna Coalition.  Additional support is provided by Golden Artist Colors, Otsego County Conservation Association, Otsego Outdoors and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation District 4.  

Butternut Valley Alliance is a not-for-profit organization serving the Butternut Valley watershed. Its mission is to encourage the Butternut Creek watershed to become an even better place to live, work, and play. BVA activities connect communities, protect the environment, and promote the arts. 

– From the Buttnernut Valley Alliance