Gentle jazz drifted with the breeze across the lawn of the food court Sunday at the 31st annual Long's Park Art & Craft Festival.

Above, wispy clouds scudded across the sky, and all around people ate gourmet food, sipped drinks and, in small white tents lining the park's arcing walkways, browsed and purchased art.

Festival director Amy Marberger was feeling guilty.

"I'm going to get credit for organizing this great show, but it really comes down to the volunteers — and four days of great weather," she said.

"The weather committee did a great job this year," Dan Powers, a photographer from Dayton, Ohio, agreed.

"We're weather-dependent," Powers said. "We watch the weather like farmers. If it's nice, the crowd is good. But if it rains — well, that's part of the risk."

Sunday was day three of the four-day festival, and people were out in throngs to view the varied artwork on display.

"There is a lot of amazing stuff here," said Jessica Melhorn of York.

She and pal Ashley Morrison, also of York, came to Long's Park to browse, she said. In fact, Morrison noted, "We came to look. We came not to buy anything."

"But we ended up buying our first real art today," Melhorn said with some pride, holding up a bag containing block prints and photography. "We started our art collections today."

Wendell Shelley of Myerstown said he came to the festival this year because of several art pieces he saw in 2008.

"I've had it locked in the back of my mind ever since," he said. And he found what he was looking for, Shelley said — a small collection of art photography and giclee prints on canvas.

Keith Lewis, a jewelry maker from Rifton, N.Y., said the Long's Park setting is a big draw for exhibitors.

"I do a lot of shows that are just stands lined up in rows in a big tent, maybe with some popcorn at the end," he said.

"The birds, the trees, the meandering walkways — this place puts people in a good calm mood. And that's pretty rare."

Business was also pretty good for artists this weekend, Lewis said.

"I'm still trying to get to my breakfast," he said, just a few minutes before 5 p.m. "Sales have been steady."

Powers agreed that it was a buying crowd at the park this weekend.

"This year, my sales are about average — and 'average' is the new 'good,' " he said. "I'm down about 25 percent at most of my shows."

Valerie Bunnell, a mixed-media sculpture artist from Northampton, Mass., said the Long's Park show attracts a "sophisticated crowd."

"It's in a beautiful park," she said. "People are happy and interested in the work."

"This is a beautiful environment to be in, and Lancaster is a great place to stay," said Prattsburg, N.Y., artist Leon Applebaum, who was showing functional and decorative glass sculptures.

"This is a great crowd. They're serious about coming to the show and serious about collecting," he said.

Marberger said the show drew a record crowd on Friday and attracted a steady stream of people through the weekend.

"People are coming out, hanging out, enjoying the food court and having a good time," she said. "And the weather is certainly cooperating. We must have done something right."

The event opens today at 10 a.m. and wraps up at 5 p.m. Marberger said organizers are trying something new from 2 to 3 p.m. called "culinary art."

Eric Howten, executive chef at the Effie Ophelia Bistro, will be giving a free culinary demonstration, with samples, in the hilltop pavilion, Marberger said.

"We're super-psyched about that," she said. "We've never done anything like it here before."

E-mail: tknapp@lnpnews.com