ArtWalk Kicks off Decatur Arts Festival

is a big thing. It attracts artists from all over the county and an estimated 65,000 art-lovers.

The festival runs through Sunday. Warm-up events have been going on all week, but it starts in earnest on Friday night with .

ArtWalk is kind of a citywide arts exhibition. It takes place 5-10 p.m. at twenty locations, including businesses, schools and public buildings. They will be offering some sort of artistic expression for wandering art-lovers. Examples:

• At you can see live demonstrations from local artists includes pottery on the wheel and folk art painting.

• At the Beacon Hill Arts Center, you can enjoy Breaking New Ground, a performance by choreographers and dance companies, at 8 pm. The event is free but there is limited seating, so reservations are encouraged.

• Decatur live up to its rep as a beer-loving town at on Church Street. Twenty-plus local HomeGrown artists present the PBaRT show – sculpture, paintings, jewelry, textiles and photography that pay homage to Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer.

• It's not on the official ArtWalk program, but will host in-store performances by musicians Callaghan and Matthew Kahler. It's free and starts at 6 p.m.

Many stores will have specials or food samples. Check the Art Festival website for a map and a list of locations in the ArtWalk.

A special Friday event that's part of the ArtWalk is "Speak ... Easy!" -- a celebration of the literary arts in music, voice and dance. It takes place from 7-9 p.m. at the Old Courthouse on the Square.

Kim Armstrong will dance, Felton Eaddy will present his poetry, Veronika Jackson will sing acoustic folk blues and Nancy Riggs marks the 150th anniversary of the Great Locomotive Chase with tales of the rails.

Jerry G, a board member of the Decatur Arts Alliance and the Decatur Arts Festival and coordinator of the Theater and Literary Arts Festival, will be host.

On Saturday, things really gear up.

The Arts Festival on the Square will be held on Saturday, May 26 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a Concert on the Square from 7 to 9:30 p.m. On Sunday, May 27, the festival is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For a full schedule of events, including musical performances, go to the Decatur Arts Festival website at http://decaturartsfestival.com.