SHELBURNE FALLS — The fourth annual Bridge of Flowers Art Show and Sale is returning to the village for a three-day event.
More than 60 local and regional artists will showcase and sell their creations, with 50% to 100% of the proceeds from artwork sold going toward the continued maintenance of the Bridge of Flowers.
The event, which is free to attend, kicks off with a reception on Friday, Aug. 14, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center at 53 Main St. The exhibit will then be open to the public on Saturday, Aug. 15, and Sunday, Aug. 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Members of the Bridge of Flowers Committee, a sub-group of the Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club, and those who organize the exhibit expressed gratitude to all the artists who contribute to the show.
“Our annual art show is a celebration of the rich and diverse artistic community in western Mass,” show co-curator and painter Ann Lofquist said in a statement. “We continue to be gratified by the generosity of our local artists.”
“The art show features a wide selection of work created by our friends and neighbors, often celebrating the beautiful place we call home,” co-curator and glass artist Joanne Soroka said in a statement. “We are grateful to the artists who support the bridge through their contributions from sales at this show.”
The first Bridge of Flowers Art Show and Sale took place in October 2023, and has since become a yearly tradition. In 2024, the bridge closed to undergo a nearly $3.2 million, yearlong reconstruction project, and its gardens were recently replanted. Proceeds from the art show help sustain this ongoing care.
Some of the artistry includes painting, photography, fiber art, printmaking and other mediums. One of the artists who will have his work for sale is Martin Yaffee, who recently started taking photos with a DSLR camera.
“I get up early, and so I get to see the sunrises and they reflect in the water. I get a lot of pictures over the dam and on the Bridge of Flowers,” Yaffee said in a statement. “I don’t just take pictures of the flowers, I take pictures in context with the environment. The gardeners and volunteers have done such a great job over the years and it’s a really great environment for photography, and I like to support that. Even now, the bridge has had kind of a rebirth, but this July, it just burst forth.”
Christopher Bagg, another participating artist, said he doesn’t often paint picturesque views, but he sometimes makes an exception, such as for the Bridge of Flowers.
“While there are many beautiful towns in western Massachusetts,” Bagg said in a statement, “one feature that sets Shelburne Falls apart is the majestic Deerfield River, impounded in the last century, that flows through its center.”
He noted that on a calm day, the still water gives landscape painters a chance to study light on water amid the historic mill buildings, and the Bridge of Flowers’ unusual arched supports lend the village an old-world charm.
For more information and photos of work in the exhibit, visit bridgeofflowersmass.org or the Bridge of Flowers Facebook page.