The third annual Charlotte International Arts Festival begins Friday, Sept. 13 with opening celebrations in uptown Charlotte and Ballantyne’s Backyard.
Both locations have been transformed with outdoor sculpture gardens that visitors can check out every day through Sept. 29. On select days, visitors can also experience live music, “Birdmen” performances, yoga, and sample local beers and food trucks.
For the first time, the public will also be allowed inside Blume Studios — a 32,000-square-foot warehouse near uptown previously owned by Charlotte Pipe and Foundry that was purchased by the festival’s lead organizer, Blumenthal Arts.
The warehouse will host the regional premiere of an immersive virtual reality experience called “Space Explorers: The Infinite,” as well as a huge, floating globe by UK artist Luke Jerram and an interactive video and audio sculpture by Matthias Schack-Arnott.
The multi-day arts festival was launched in 2021 as a way to showcase works by international artists alongside local creators, and to lift up some of Charlotte’s smaller cultural festivals with Blumenthal Art’s well-funded marketing team…
Other events include the Charlotte Brunch Festival, the Lowcountry Culture Festival and the ArtPop Upcycled Fashion Show on Sept. 14, Tablao Flamenco on Sept. 19 – 21, the University City Wine Fest on Sept. 21, Festival in the Park from Sept. 20 – 22, an Asian Day and Night Market on Sept. 22, the free concert series SouthPark After 5 from Sept. 19 – 26, the Queen City Zine Fest and Le Diner En Blanc on Sept. 28, the Wizard of Oz-themed festival called CharlOZ from Sept. 26 – 29, the 12th Annual Southern Guitar Festival from Sept. 28 – 29, the Charlotte Film Festival from Sept. 24 – 29, and OurBridge 11th Annual Fall Festival on Oct. 19.
