16th annual Bluff Arts Festival will be entirely virtual this week

The annual Bluff Arts Festival is this week, but you don’t have to travel to Bluff to enjoy it. The 16th annual festival is completely virtual this year due to ongoing fear surrounding COVID-19.

The virtual festival starts Thursday, October 15 and continues through Sunday, October 18.

Workshops, presentations, and events from artists will occur over Zoom throughout the festival, with free registration available online at BluffArtsFestival.org.

The festival begins Thursday evening with a virtual riverside storytelling featuring award-winning author David Gessner and Hannah Hindley, recipient of the 15th annual Desert Writers Award.

Friday and Saturday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. will be the film festival featuring local filmmakers showcasing issues important to the area.

The market will also be online and include a directory of over 25 artists and links to their online shops featuring Four Corners art.

The festival is also including an addition to match the unique nature of the 16th annual Bluff Arts Festival. The Bluff Arts Festival is inviting all to write their 2020 story specific to the pandemic.

The writing element is a return to the Bluff Arts Festival roots, which started off as a writing event many years ago. The stories will be collected, and when the festival is held in person again, the stories will be incorporated into a sculpture that will be burned.

Writers should indicate whether they’d like their stories kept private or not. They can be sent to bluffartsfestival@gmail.com or mailed to PO Box 328, Bluff, UT 84512.