For kids, it signals the end of summer fun and, possibly, a day off from the new school year. For adults, it’s one final cookout or family excursion to the community pool.


And for thousands of art lovers in central Pennsylvania, Labor Day weekend has become synonymous with the Long’s Park Art & Craft Festival. The 28th annual festival begins Friday and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 4.


The festival, Long’s Park Amphitheater Foundation’s primary fundraiser, draws 200 fine artists and craftspeople to one of the most celebrated shows of its kind in North America.


“This event ... draws some really great artists,” said festival director Donna Stephen Reinaker. “This year we have exhibitors coming from 44 states and as far away as Canada and the United Kingdom.


“This is not just for art lovers or people training to be art lovers,” she said. “We also have great food from top area restaurants, wine and craft beers, live music and special events like an English tea and a wine tasting.


“This gives folks in our area and up and down the East Coast a chance to see some really fabulous art,” she said.


Recently ranked the No. 6 show of its kind in the country by industry publication Art Fair SourceBook, the Long’s Park Art & Craft Festival began in 1979 as a way to raise money to help care for the Long’s Park amphitheater and pay for performances there.


“Most of the money that funds our free, 13-week Long’s Park Summer Entertainment Series comes from the Long’s Park Art & Craft Festival. This year’s lineup featured greats like Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the Count Basie Orchestra,” Reinaker said.


“To present the quality performers we offer in our entertainment series shows,” she said, “we have to figure out a way to pay for them.”


That’s where the festival comes in, raising money through ticket sales to the general public and through booth rental fees for artists.


“We care about quality programming,” Reinaker said, “and it’s this event that makes the necessary fundraising possible.”


Though many of the artists exhibiting at the show are returning, 50 are new.


“This show is always fresh, even though people may see old faces in the same spaces,” Reinaker said. “Just because three-quarters of our artists are returning and often request their regular spaces when they are juried into the show, that doesn’t mean that the show is the same year after year.”


Nearly 1,000 artisans submitted slides of their work to be considered for 200 slots. For the artists, exhibiting at the festival is more than business; it’s a way to interact with their community.


“The event at Long’s Park is not only one of my biggest-selling events; it’s also one of the most fun,” said potter Suzanne Crane in a telephone interview from her studio in Charlottesville, Va.


“In the world of pottery, I do shows in places like Boston, Chicago, Denver and St. Louis, but, by far, some of my best customers come from the show at Long’s Park,” said Crane, who specializes in high-fire stoneware with a botanical motif.


“In the art world, this event is recognized as one of the best of its type around,” she said. “Plus, it’s a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old friends and a larger community of artists.”


One of the secrets to the festival’s success, Reinaker said, is the wide variety of goods in different price ranges.


“It’s important to have good and inexpensive things, from jewelry and handmade paper for around $25 to sculpture costing several hundreds to thousands of dollars,” Reinaker said. “We have exhibitors selling pieces for all tastes and budget levels. It’s one of the things that makes us unique.”


The works to be displayed include leather and ceramic goods, photography, quilts, handmade coats and scarves and traditional artwork such as painting and printmaking.


“There’s also going to be some extraordinary glassware,” she said, “along with some truly amazing furniture in a wide range of both wood and metal.”


New this year are special food events each afternoon, starting Friday with an authentic high tea from the Lancaster-based House of Clarendon and its master English confectioner.


From 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Carr’s Restaurant in Lancaster will host a wine- and cheese-tasting event. From 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Coleman’s Ice Cream will host Ice Cream Sundae Sunday, a make-your-own-sundae event. From 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, Achenbach’s Pastries of Leola will be dishing out its famous milk apple pie with a dollop of Coleman’s ice cream.


And as usual, the festival includes gourmet foods from area restaurants including Carr’s, D&S Brasserie and Blue Pacific.


The Amphitheater Foundation also will hold a special fundraising breakfast at 8 a.m. Friday. A $100 ticket includes a gourmet breakfast followed by an unfettered half-hour of shopping at the show before it opens to the general public at 10 a.m.


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The 28th annual Long’s Park Art & Craft Festival opens daily at 10 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. except on Labor Day, when it closes at 5 p.m. Multi-day festival tickets cost $12, and one-day tickets are $10. Discounted advance tickets are available online at www.longspark.org through Aug. 30. Children 12 and under are admitted free. Tickets to the fundraising breakfast also are available online or by calling the Amphitheater Foundation at 295-7054.
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