The 24th annual South End Art Hop kicks off this Friday, September 9, in Burlington. To those who've never attended, it can be hard to explain what all the fuss is about. It's not enough to say that more than 500 artists will show and sell their work in open studios and businesses from Main Street to Home Avenue. And, yes, there's a juried exhibition, a buzzing Kids Hop on Saturday morning, an artists' market and a sassy fashion show called STRUT. These components are the heart of the Hop, to be sure. But there's more. Perhaps it takes sifting through the Art Hop program to appreciate the sheer variety of activities. The 72-page booklet with a pullout map, distributed in Burlington and beyond in recent weeks, reveals what's in store. We pulled just a few samples for this story. The Hop is about not just looking, but doing. Anyone interested in learning a new skill can choose from needle felting, screen-printing, mural making, landscape painting, taiko drumming and djembe skinning this weekend. Never mind the potential inspiration to be gleaned from demos of yoga, aikido, chocolate sculpting and latte-art making. For history buffs, Preservation Burlington will lead tours through the South End to highlight its industrial and architectural past. Did we mention the live music, umpteen local food vendors and unparalleled people-watching opportunities? What may be unique to this arts fest is that nearly every single enterprise in the South End gets involved, from breweries to a tire store to wellness centers to the Burlington Electric Department. What cannot be explained or listed in a program are the intangibles: the Hop's collective joie de vivre and its pride of place. Do some of the estimated 30,000 attendees just come to party? Sure. But the Art Hop is, at its core, a celebration of hands-on human creativity. Of course, all those artists, food trucks, Porta-Potties and trash bins don't organize themselves. Who makes it happen? The South End Arts and Business Association, which is just what it sounds like — an organization that "fuses art and industry" in the post-industrial hood known as the South End Arts District. SEABA has a staff of one and three-quarters and a 12-person board of directors; it operates on an extremely modest budget from its office and gallery at 404 Pine Street. Year-round, the organization curates art exhibits at a dozen locations;…
The 24th annual South End Art Hop kicks off this Friday, September 9, in Burlington. To those who've never attended, it can be hard to explain what all the fuss is about. It's not enough to say that more than 500 artists will show and sell their work in open studios and businesses from Main Street to Home Avenue. And, yes, there's a juried exhibition, a buzzing Kids Hop on Saturday morning, an artists' market and a sassy fashion show called STRUT. These components are the heart of the Hop, to be sure. But there's more. Perhaps it takes sifting through the Art Hop program to appreciate the sheer variety of activities. The 72-page booklet with a pullout map, distributed in Burlington and beyond in recent weeks, reveals what's in store. We pulled just a few samples for this story. The Hop is about not just looking, but doing. Anyone interested in learning a new skill can choose from needle felting, screen-printing, mural making, landscape painting, taiko drumming and djembe skinning this weekend. Never mind the potential inspiration to be gleaned from demos of yoga, aikido, chocolate sculpting and latte-art making. For history buffs, Preservation Burlington will lead tours through the South End to highlight its industrial and architectural past. Did we mention the live music, umpteen local food vendors and unparalleled people-watching opportunities? What may be unique to this arts fest is that nearly every single enterprise in the South End gets involved, from breweries to a tire store to wellness centers to the Burlington Electric Department. What cannot be explained or listed in a program are the intangibles: the Hop's collective joie de vivre and its pride of place. Do some of the estimated 30,000 attendees just come to party? Sure. But the Art Hop is, at its core, a celebration of hands-on human creativity. Of course, all those artists, food trucks, Porta-Potties and trash bins don't organize themselves. Who makes it happen? The South End Arts and Business Association, which is just what it sounds like — an organization that "fuses art and industry" in the post-industrial hood known as the South End Arts District. SEABA has a staff of one and three-quarters and a 12-person board of directors; it operates on an extremely modest budget from its office and gallery at 404 Pine Street. Year-round, the organization curates art exhibits at a dozen locations;…