MARION — Hundreds of people turned out to paint, sip, dance, perform and otherwise immerse themselves in the arts during Southcoast Spring Arts at the Marion Art Center May 5 to 15.

“The overall festival was a big success, and I saw lots of new faces, which means we were able to serve people we don't normally reach,’’ Marion Art Center executive director Jodi Stevens said. 

She estimated the events drew about 450 attendees.

More than 100 people attended the “Arts in Marion’s Gilded Age’’ event, which looked at a time in the late 1800s when Marion became a summer gathering spot for artists, writers, actors, musicians and intellectual luminaries. The event was co-sponsored by the Marion Art Center and the Sippican Historical Society.

Other popular activities, Stevens reported, included the dinner and improv workshop at the Community Center, and the paint and sip, which allowed attendees to sample wines and learn to paint in the sunny outdoor space at the center.

The Latin percussion and the jazz jam were so popular, Stevens said, that they may repeat them during other times of the year.