Warm and sunny summer days have disappeared. So too, have all those rows of white canopies in open fields, parking lots and closed off side streets that signal an art festival is in full swing. The canopies may be gone, but festivals, though fewer, are not. They have just moved indoors.

Fall and winter are a great time for festival hopping because for one thing they get you out of the house on some less than perfect days, and second, they offer unique gift opportunities for the holidays. A favorite format for these Puget Sound Travelers is the “studio show.”

There are artists of every stripe scattered throughout many familiar and far-flung locations on Puget Sound. Just traveling from studio to studio can be an intriguing adventure through the woods and small towns of the area. Being able to experience art in its creative setting is appealing, we think, and having the artist on hand to talk about their work only adds to that appeal.  And viewed from a practical angle, though fine art is not inexpensive, you are not paying an inflated price which would include a commission in a gallery.

A major studio tour, “Art in the Woods” will be held this weekend, November 13, 14, & 15, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. each day, on the Kitsap Peninsula. Sponsored by Cultural Arts Foundation Northwest of Poulsbo, the tour includes the work of 58 artists in 21 locations from one side of the peninsula to the other.

The festival locale is less than an hour from Seattle via either Bainbridge or Edmonds ferry. There is a considerable, and growing, list of decent eateries in the area. A visit to one would make for a great end to a day of art and nature.
For more information: www. CAFNW.org