CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — A beloved Crozet tradition will be returning for its 46th year this weekend.

The Crozet Arts and Crafts Festival will be returning to Crozet Park Saturday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on each day. The biannual festival, which is also held in October, will feature work from over 130 artists as well as live demonstrations, music, a children’s area, local food trucks, Virginia wine and beer and Mother’s Day specials like free wine tasting from noon to 2 p.m. each day.

Festival Director Ewa Harr told Cville Right Now the event is “huge” in Crozet, and after making a comeback post-COVID, the event has gotten bigger and bigger over the past few years.

“On a beautiful weekend when the weather is perfect, we’ve seen up to 8000 people over a weekend,” she said.

The event has also attracted more and more artists to the area, with this spring’s event bringing in artists from all over the East Coast, as well as Michigan, Florida and California.

Harr also said the organizers strive to make the event “fun for the whole family,” with a lot of families bringing children, parents and grandparents.

“It’s a really wonderful way to celebrate spring and Mother’s Day in the foothills of the Blue Ridge,” she said.

The biannual festivals are the biggest fundraisers for the park, which is nonprofit and community owned. Single day tickets for the event are $8, and weekend tickets are $14 at the gate. Senior 65 and older as well as Military do get a discount, with single-day tickets at $6 and weekend tickets at $10. All children 12 and under get in free.

Leashed dogs are also welcome at the event. Free parking is available at Western Albemarle High School and Henley Elementary School, and a free shuttle service will be available from those lots.

The event is also a part of Charlottesville Art Month, which Harr, who is also the Executive Director of the IX Art Foundation, is helping spearhead along with Friends of Cville Downtown. The month will feature a number of events across a variety of arts, including the Charlottesville Arts Festival at IX Art Park from May 23-24.

“There’s just a lot of stuff happening this month that were excited to share and cross promote and let people know about,” Harr said.

For now, the focus of the local art world is on this weekend. Harr, who is organizing the festival for the seventh year, said she enjoys meeting all the artists every year and seeing their work, many of whom have made it a habit to come every year.

“There’s always something that is just absolutely incredible or that look so amazing in-person when you see it that having seen it just online or something like that would never have done it justice,” she said. “So, the art lover in me really enjoys the event just for what it is.”

Harr said events like the Crozet Art Festival and Charlottesville Art Month provide sources of inspiration and creativity while allowing the community to come together.

“That’s something that people always need but sometimes need even more of,” she said. “And I think, not just coming out of COVID, but with a lot of things that have been happening in the world, it is a way for people to be able to share that with each other.”