Paradise Garden: Celebrating Howard Finster's Vision at Finster Fest 2025

Deep in the Appalachian foothills of Summerville, Georgia, lies a testament to one man's faith and vision: Paradise Garden, the magnum opus of the late folk art legend Reverend Howard Finster. On September 20–21, 2025, the garden hosts Finster Fest, an annual celebration of the art, music, and gospel that defined its creator.

I was fortunate to interview and befriend Howard Finster, a self-described "man of visions," a Baptist minister who spent four decades spreading the gospel before receiving a second divine calling. In 1976, while touching up a bicycle he was repairing, he saw a human face in a smudge of paint on his finger. A voice spoke to him, instructing him to "Paint sacred art" to spread God's word. Although he had only a sixth-grade education and no formal art training, Finster embraced the mission with fierce dedication, eventually creating nearly 47,000 numbered pieces of art before his death in 2001.

Paradise Garden

Finster's home became his pulpit, a four-acre canvas where he transformed discarded objects into an expansive, otherworldly environment he called Paradise Garden. A former swamp, the garden grew to include fanciful structures like the Mirror House, the Hubcap Tower, the "Serpent of the Wilderness" sculpture, and the five-story World's Folk Art Church. He combined found objects like bicycle parts, colored glass, and junk with meticulous paintings and hand-lettered signs quoting biblical verses and messages for humanity.

The purity of Finster's spiritual mission and his folksy, showman-like personality resonated with a wide audience. Finster’s art gained mainstream notoriety after he appeared on The Tonight Show in 1983. Rock bands embraced his distinctive aesthetic; he designed album covers for R.E.M. (Reckoning) and the Talking Heads (Little Creatures), the latter of which won a Rolling Stone Album Cover of the Year award and helped carry his message to millions of people.

Rev. Finster helped elevate the perception of Appalachian visual arts. His work is now part of permanent collections at prestigious institutions like the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Atlanta's High Museum of Art.

Finster Fest 2025: A weekend of art, music, and community

This year's festival, running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, September 20-21, celebrates Finster's legacy in his own magical environment. Over 70 artists will exhibit folk art, fine art, and crafts. (Rabun Gap folk art legend Eric Legge will be there. His work is amazing!) Multiple stages will feature Americana, roots, gospel, and bluegrass music. Guests can also enjoy BBQ, homemade pound cake, and the famous Paradise pimento cheese sandwich.

This year marks the reopening of the World's Folk Art Church for visitors for the first time in over 25 years.

The Soul of a Southern Artist

Now, Howard Finster, he had a vision,

Said a paint smudge on his thumb gave him his mission.

He could've painted landscapes, or a fancy still-life,

But instead he painted Elvis with a heavenly wife.

Oh, the sacred and the simple, it's a glorious mess,

With Coke bottle angels and a hubcap fortress.

You might not understand it, you might scratch your head,

But you can't deny the feeling when the good word is spread.

He made a church from bicycles and a tower of junk,

Said the Lord spoke through objects, and not just in a monk.

He'd write "Repent now!" next to a dinosaur,

'Cause the gospel's for everybody, and then some more.

He put his sacred art on an R.E.M. record,

Then the Talking Heads called, saying, "Finster, we're all floored!"

So he got more verses out than he ever could dream,

Proving rock and roll music can also redeem.

Oh, the sacred and the simple, it's a glorious mess,

With Coke bottle angels and a hubcap fortress.

You might not understand it, you might scratch your head,

But you can't deny the feeling when the good word is spread.

Doc Lawrence