Free festival weekend of art and live entertainment expected to draw 30,000 attendees
This weekend, Hillsborough County will once again host one of Florida's premier arts festivals at one of the region's top riverfront venues. The Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park is expected to draw crowds to the picturesque park, along with hundreds of artists, vendors, and more.
The Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is an annual outdoor, juried fine arts show, displaying the work of over 250 artists. The show, now in its 55th year, showcases a variety of art mediums and price points.
The nonprofit festival is free and features live music, food vendors, and activities for children and families. This year's show will be held March 1-2 at Riverfront Park, 1001 North Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33607.
Works on display and for sale include pieces made from ceramic, fiber, glass, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, watercolor, wood, and digital means.
Many of the artists showing at the Gasparilla Arts Festival come from across the country, while others are local.
Meet a 2024 exhibiting artist and Hillsborough County grant recipient who had a creative reawakening and became "The Pencil Guy."
Exhibitor spotlight: Marc Brechwald, self-taught artist and Hillsborough County grant recipient
Brechwald grew up in Iowa, often spending his free time sketching superheroes. After college he took a 20-year break from drawing and focused on a career in sales, and later, fundraising. During that time, he lived in different cities across the U.S., including Kansas City, Atlanta, and eventually Tampa.
As a former fundraiser for the University of Tampa, Brechwald often admired the student artwork displayed on campus. When the COVID pandemic hit and Brechwald found himself at home with more time on his hands, he began to draw again. From there his artistic reawakening took on a life of its own.
Now, several years later, Brechwald is a full-time professional artist with a studio in Ybor City and a roster of upcoming exhibits. Much of his work is created using graphite and colored pencils, earning him the nickname "The Pencil Guy."
According to Brechwald, "every face has a story to tell." These stories come to life in his hyper-realistic portraits of attractive and compelling individuals. Many of his drawings highlight the beauty of human diversity, with subjects representing a wide range of ages, races, ethnicities, and religions. Within every drawing, Brechwald captures the contrasting textures of skin, hair, and fabric with astonishing precision. Each lifelike piece can take anywhere from 15 to 125 hours, depending upon the detail depicted.
Brechwald has exhibited work across Hillsborough County and in several galleries in St. Petersburg. In 2024, he was awarded a grant from the Arts Council of Hillsborough County. With his career as a figurative artist rapidly expanding, he values the rich arts scene that he is now enmeshed in and how it contributes to the quality of life for artists and non-artists, alike.
"I think everyone recognizes that having a healthy and vital arts environment and culture is important for any city; whether that comes to attracting businesses to relocate to the Tampa Bay area, attracting the top talent to come to our hospitals, to our universities, or whatever the case may be," Brechwald said. "The arts are a huge economic driver and also a huge cultural, critical component to any city that people would want to live in, large or small."
Arts Council of Hillsborough County Grant Programs
Marc Brechwald is a recipient of the Professional Development for Artists (PDA) Grant. This grant program provides support for specific projects that advance the careers of artists in Hillsborough County.
The Gasparilla Festival of the Arts receives funding from the Special Event Partnership Grant program. This grant program is designed to strengthen and promote cultural assets through growing and supporting arts and cultural events. For more information, visit the Arts Council of Hillsborough County or email arts@HCFL.gov.