Christopher Etch stands before his creation - a graffiti mural that spells out "Cyclops". (All photos by Aaron Zaremsky)
The Cyclops Festival – An Eye for Talent
- Published: September 13, 2015
The Cyclops Festival was a rousing success this year, and drew a healthy amount of vendors, craftsmen, and musicians to present their talents and wares to the crowds. Festival attendees were greeted throughout the day by colorful and creative crafts, delicious food, and jamming tunes to sate their palates and soothe their ears. Spirits were high and the general mood of the crowd was playful, happy, and satisfied.
The event was sponsored by Dayton City Paper, WYSO, The Village of Yellow Springs, Urban Hand Made, and Clay + Stan. Musicians and DJs graced a pair of stages and included such acts as DJ Nordique, DJ Creepingbear, Emma Woodruff, and The Repeating Arms. Food vendors such as the Drunken Waffle, Asian Persuasion, and the Funnel Cake Station made sure the crowd was sufficiently stuffed throughout the day. The Yellow Springs Brewery supplied a steady flow of drink throughout the day to festival goers.
As for the main pull of the event, arts and crafts vendors lined up and down, inside and out of the Bryan Center like an armada of sailing vessels. The choices of items for customers were eclectic, fun, quirky, and some quite beautiful. You could hand make your own silk scarf at Unique Silk, buy a wooden guitar plated in Ohio license plates at Floyd Appleman’s booth, or buy one of Ben Riddlebarger’s unique and strange Star Wars creations. All in all, almost five dozen booths did business in the village throughout the day and well into the evening hours.
Yellow Springs thrives on this creative market, and events like the Cyclops Festival are important for the village. A healthy and happy community like ours can and will endure with continuous and consistent allowance of these festivals for creative merchants to do what they do and showcase what they have for eager consumers.
The Cyclops Festival has been gaining momentum for a few years and hopefully will keep chugging along well into the future. Anyone interested in handmade crafts, good food, and great music should make the effort to catch the event next year. It is worth the time and currency.
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