For the past fifty years, Mainsail Art Festival has been bringing fine artists together for one incredible weekend in the sunshine. Our 50th Anniversary show will see 250+ juried fine arts and crafts exhibitors competing for over $65,000 in prize money with a $10k Best of Show Award and $5k Mainsail 50th Anniversary Award. Ranked 37th in Sunshine Artist Magazine’s 200 Best of 2024, Mainsail is a staple of artists’ and collectors’ calendars.This year we are honored to welcome our judge, the lovely Holly Koons, Executive Director of Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center at Christopher Newport University.
There is truly something for everyone’s walls, with a wide assortment of art styles across thirteen mediums: Ceramics, Digital Art, Fibers, Glass, Graphics, Jewelry, Metal, Mixed Media, Oil/Acrylic, Photography, Sculpture, Watercolor, and Wood.
Our long standing all-volunteer committee works to bring this annual event to life. The Mainsail committee is unique in its tenure and dedication, with members from the very first committee still serving alongside St. Petersburg locals of all ages and backgrounds. The committee is proud to have members and weekend volunteers who have been generously and graciously volunteering their time and talents for decades. As a non-profit organization with no paid staff, this longevity speaks to the passion and dedication that honors Mainsail and has for the past fifty years.
Our artists are as longstanding as our team. We have fostered lasting relationships with artists from across the state and the country, some of whom even relocated to St. Petersburg after discovering its vibrant arts community through exhibiting at Mainsail. Despite weather, scheduling conflicts, and even a global pandemic, we are honored to have them back year after year. Arriving at our fiftieth year, the relationships built and nurtured between artists, patrons, volunteers, and committee members are one of Mainsail’s proudest achievements.
The 50th Annual Mainsail Art Festival will be held in St. Petersburg’s waterfront Vinoy Park on April 5th and 6th, 2025. Mainsail Art Festival is one of the premier cultural events on St. Petersburg’s outdoor calendar. Each year, more than 100,000 visitors attend the festival to enjoy and purchase quality art, participate in family-friendly activities of all sorts, delight in local bites and cold beverages, and listen to live musical entertainment. In honor of the 50th Anniversary, you will experience a special Mainsail History exhibit that will take you back in time to the artworks of the past, and will feature some of the people, posters, and memorabilia that helped make Mainsail the success that it is. This year will feature a special $5,000 prize award in honor of the 50th Anniversary. Mainsail is a free event for the whole community, there are no tickets required and no barrier to entry.
THE DETAILS
50th Anniversary Mainsail Art Festival
Saturday, April 5, 2025: 9am – 6pm
Sunday, April 6, 2025: 10am -5pm
250+ Juried Fine Arts and Crafts Exhibitors
Competing for $60,000 in Prize Money with a $10k Best of Show, $5k Mainsail 50th Anniversary Prize
Ranked 37th in Sunshine Artist Magazine’s 200 Best of 2024
Free Admission, No Tickets Required
Cashless Event for Promotions and Beverages
All-Volunteer Committee
Non-Profit Organization with No Paid Staff
FEATURING:
JLSP Kids Create Craft Tent
Young at ARt Student Show
Performing Arts Live Music
Culinary Arts Food Court
13 Art Mediums: Ceramics, Digital Art, Fibers, Glass, Graphics, Jewelry, Metal, Mixed Media, Oil/Acrylic, Photography, Sculpture, Watercolor, and Wood.
2025 JUDGE: Holly Koons, Executive Director, Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center at Christopher Newport University
2025 FEATURED ARTIST: Anne Zimmerman Briand
Anne is a local artist who paints evocative landscapes using vibrant, contemporary colors and rich textures in oil. She earned a BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design and began her career in graphic design. For more information on Anne, visit her website: https://www.annezimmerman.com/pages/about.
2025 Commemorative Poster Title: “Emerging into the Light”!
