Art festival draws crowds to Madison, Indiana for decades-long tradition

MADISON, Ind. (WDRB) — A southern Indiana festival brings thousands of people to downtown Madison all for one thing, art.

The Madison Chautauqua Festival of Art, held every September on the Ohio River, has been a staple in Jefferson County, Indiana for decades. It also features around 175 vendors.

"Great festival, my son has come for the first time, too, so he's loving it, I mean there's different events for him to do too, I think it's great for all ages and I think people should definitely check it out if they haven't already," Hannah Klotz, who traveled from Cincinnati, said.

Saturday was Klotz's first time at the festival, but she's been hearing about it for years from her parents. She said it lives up to the hype.

"There's not just paintings, there's jewelry, different wood pieces, there's different foods, and I just think that when you combine all of that into one festival, that's a cool thing to do," Klotz said.

One vendor is SmokEy Lights. The people who run the booth travel from Franklin, Indiana to sell at the festival. The concept of Eric Klinkowski's art is to give items a second life by turning them into lamps.

"People started bringing me family heirlooms like mixers and phones and other items and said, 'you look like you could make a lamp out of anything,'" Klinkowski said.

He said he loves giving things a new purpose.

"I got a real love for old 45 records and repurposing them, rather than seeing them go to a landfill they get to be appreciated for a new purpose."

The festival continues Sunday, Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in downtown Madison.

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