Times staff report
On April 26-28, Linn Park will host Birmingham’s largest city center arts festival, the Magic City Art Connection (MCAC) and will bring together artists from around the country, local musicians & performers, chefs and other Birmingham tastemakers for its 36th year in Linn Park.
This year’s MCAC will bring in 200 juried fine artists from around the country, and all mediums, styles and price points will be represented. One of the reasons this festival is so unique is because it is an all-encompassing experience. There will be music and dance on two different stages, art-making at workshops and parades for kids, large scale art installations, food and drink at Corks & Chefs
The festival will be from 10 a.m. -6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 26-27, and 10 a.m. -5 p.m. on Sunday, April 28.
Expected are a lot of art from a mix of local, regional and national artists. This year’s Featured Artist is John Lytle Wilson, a Birmingham-based artist known for his colorful paintings of animals and robots.
“My paintings stem from my interest in the power of images. From advertising and product design to museum pieces and iconography, we have long used imagery to attract, convert, and sell,” Wilson said. “I choose animal and robot imagery as stand-ins for traditional human subject matter. These also allow me to explore issues such as consciousness, free will and mortality.”
Magic City Art Connection is honoring Amy Pleasant as the 10th Birmingham recipient of its Distinguished Artist award! According to her artist statement, her “work includes painting, drawing, and ceramic sculpture, all exploring the body and language through repetition.” Pleasant is also a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow—one of three southern winners—and will be featuring an exhibition of her ceramic work at the festival!
Food
Park Place Cafe
The Park Place Cafe, located at the southern end of Linn Park will be free and open to all during the weekend! Some of their features will include City Bowls, Steel City Pops, Taco Morro Loco, Porky’s Pride and more.
Corks & Chefs: A Taste of Birmingham
There will be plenty of food experiences at the festival. But if you want to step into a taster’s paradise, Corks & Chefs is the place for you at MCAC. It takes place under a 300-foot tent on Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28 of the art festival’s three day weekend! There will be food samples from some of Birmingham’s best restaurants like Ocean, Roots & Revelry, and The Essential, plus wine, craft beer and even cocktail tastings from local favorites like The Atomic, Paper Doll, The Collins, and Queens Park!
