Summerlin life imitates art
More than 15,000 valley residents attended the annual Summerlin Art Festival, which was held Sept. 29 and 30 at Summerlin Centre Community Park.
The event combines two popular Summerlin traditions, La Strada dell'Arte and Celebration of the Arts.
La Strada dell'Arte is a sidewalk painting festival adopted from Italian culture now in its seventh year in Summerlin.
This year's event featured hundreds of chalk masterpieces by aspiring artists of all ages.
Special guest artist, Julie Kirk from Chino, Calif., once again created a replica masterpiece over a three-day period.
Kirk is an avid and experienced street painter who is frequently commissioned by national corporations and travels extensively, creating temporary works of art on sidewalks and streets throughout the country.
Celebration of the Arts, now in its 15th year in Summerlin, is an outdoor art festival that features a collection of hand-made goods from more than 120 artisans.
Items included one-of-a-kind artwork for sale, including paintings, glasswork, pottery, jewelry, metalwork, sculpture, mixed media, apparel, handmade soaps, handcrafted dolls and woodcrafts.
"Summerlin has a long history of promoting culturally diverse, artistically enriched and family friendly activities appreciated by all ages," said Nikkole Liesse, marketing director for The Howard Hughes Corp., developer of Summerlin.
"And the Summerlin Art Festival is no exception. Even after 15 years, the event is one of our biggest and most popular weekend attractions."
The event also included a full lineup of entertainment.
The Academy of Nevada Ballet Theatre performed.
Chef Chanh Boupha and his students at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Las Vegas in Summerlin gave food art demonstrations during the event.
Roving entertainers from The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian and live music from Sixtiesmania and jazz musician David Van Such provided the tunes for the weekend.
The 2007 Summerlin Art Festival was sponsored by Summerlin, KTNV-TV, Channel 13, Summerlin News and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Summerlin began to take shape in 1990. It is a 22,500-acre master-planned community located along the western rim of the Las Vegas Valley.
The community features a number of amenities and is home to more than 95,000 residents. With about 7,500 acres still to develop, including its urban core, Summerlin Centre, the community is continuing to unfold.
The project is home to more than 100 neighborhood and village parks, more than 150 completed miles of the Summerlin trail system, nine golf courses, a dozen houses of worship, shopping centers, medical and cultural facilities, business parks, 22 public and private schools and more than 100 actively selling floor plans.
Homes are available in a variety of styles -- from single-family homes to townhomes, condominiums and lofts -- priced from the low $200,000s to more than $2 million.
Custom home sites in The Ridges are priced from the $500,000s.
Luxury apartment homes offer monthly rents starting from the low $1,000s.
For more information on the master-planned community, visit summerlin.com or call 888-898-5015.
