The clay ball hit the wheel with a loud thunk. The mound lay in the center of the silver disc,  lifeless. She sat down on the stool and pressed her foot to the pedal and the earthy mass began to move. The clean silver disc became a muddy sun as the water spewed away from the clay into the moat below. The most hypnotic aspect was watching how such little movement could shape the clay so drastically…

This was a clay wheel throwing demonstration by Deborah Slahta, a resident artist at The Banana Factory. This was just one of the many demonstrations and exhibits at the SouthSide Arts Festival which kicked off the warmer season celebration circuit in Bethlehem back in April. Formerly the Urban Street Art Festival, this event is held on the same day as the Spring on the SouthSide chili cook-off. It is a day our SouthSide gets to shine!

I entitled this post “THROWBACK THURSDAY” as this event was back in April. I was just so smitten with all my photos and love this event so much it was still worth sharing – timeline aside!

What I love most is it is SouthSide’s time to shine. We’re artsy, ambitious, and a bit unpolished and I wouldn’t want it any other way!

Here is just a mere glimpse of a day packed with the arts! I’ve included links to businesses if you are interested in any of their products or services:

Art and music were around every corner during the festival – even further down on Third Street a band played from the balcony above Twenty Four East.

Hope you enjoyed this look back. Here’s to more festivals this summer – be sure to get out there!