Celebrate Month of the Arts in Georgetown this October

Sep 21, 2023

Announcing South Main Arts Festival headliner Guy Forsyth

The City of Georgetown is celebrating the Month of the Arts this October with several events for our residents and visiting art lovers.

Oct. 12 | Brown Bag Luncheon: The Importance of Texas Cultural Districts

The City will host the quarterly Arts and Culture Brown Bag Luncheon Oct. 12.

Ernest Luna, Cultural District Program Administrator for the Texas Commission on the Arts, will present on the value of Texas Cultural Districts and the opportunities available to these special districts.

The meeting begins at noon in the Friends Room at the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch. There will be time after the discussion to share and learn about arts and culture programs happening in the Georgetown Community.

This quarterly professional development presentation is sponsored by the Georgetown Arts and Culture program. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to arts@georgetown.org.

Oct. 19 | Autumn Art Stroll & City project open house

Patrons are invited to engage in arts experiences from 4-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at various locations across the Downtown Georgetown Cultural District. Experiences include artist demonstrations and an artist talk, art exhibits, live music, performing arts, and art shopping opportunities.

During the Art Stroll, the 2023 Georgetown Sculpture Tour award winners will be announced at 7 p.m. in the South Main Arts District, 817 S. Main St.

Members of the public also will be able to learn more about and provide feedback on three projects that are critical to the development of downtown: The Downtown Master Plan, the Austin Avenue Corridor Study, and the Austin Avenue Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridges. Join City staff and consultants from 4 to 7 p.m. in the lobby of the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St.

Residents who attend the open house will also have an opportunity to learn more about the four propositions the City will have on the November 2023 ballot.

Oct. 20 | Haunted Art Night

From 6-9 p.m. Oct. 20, celebrate Haunted Art Night in the South Main Arts District with a Haunted Art House presented by Sonia Colonna-Mathis at Grace Chapel. At 8 p.m., watch a screening of the 1922 silent Dracula film in the South Main Arts District Park accompanied by Central Texas Philharmonic.

Oct. 21 | South Main Arts Festival

Celebrate Georgetown’s second annual South Main Arts Festival dedicated to the fine arts and located in the new South Main Arts District—a project that received Cultural District grant funding from the Texas Commission on the Arts.

The headlining musician will be Guy Forsyth, Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster Artist. Forsyth, an award-winning blues musician, will perform from 5-6:30 p.m. in the South Main Arts District. The City’s Arts and Culture program received grant funding from the TCA to bring Forsyth to Georgetown to perform at the festival.

Shop the juried artist booths for a variety of artistic media while viewing the community-led mural painting. Enjoy food trucks, live music, and ribbon dancers throughout the day, as well as children’s art activities and pottery by Cordovan Art School, an outdoor theatrical performance, and more.

For more information about this and other Arts and Culture events, visit our webpage here.

Oct. 19 & 21 | Water conservation events

The City of Georgetown’s Water Conservation team is looking to bring awareness to the importance of water and sustainable watering through two opportunities, planned in conjunction with the arts events.

Ten rain barrels painted by area artists will be displayed at local businesses and City facilities in the downtown area Oct. 10-21 as part of the second annual Painted Rain Barrel Project. The vibrant, painted rain barrels will be up for auction during that week, and people can place bids via a QR code. Proceeds from the auction will go toward water conservation education and outreach efforts in our local school systems.

Additionally, in efforts to spread more awareness and promote community engagement about water conservation, the Water Conservation team will also be hosting its second Imagine a Day Without Water event on Oct. 19.

Water plays a vital role in our daily lives, and this event is designed to bring awareness to what life would be like without water. Downtown businesses will have free swag available, and people can enter a raffle to win a chance for themed giveaways.

Zoee Xiao Artworks

Watercolor paintings

Zoee is a watercolor painter, focusing in a minimalist and impressionist style. Art and nature has been an important part of her life since a young age. She grew up in a beautiful southern town in China and was trained under a sumi-e painter at a young age. After growing up, she moved to the United States to study animation and computer graphics in University of Pennsylvania, and then started working as a gaming software engineer after graduation.

But her love for art continued strongly. She spent years developing her artist career while working as a full time engineer. The eastern and western influence on her moved her to incorporate minimalist eastern aesthetic into colorful western aesthetic. The process of making art also helped her tremendously when dealing with stress and depression from her engineer job. Now she is a full time artist, she wants to channel such healing power to her audience through her art, helping them ease the stress and pain in the modern life.