Stephen Koleshis, a retired salesman turned artist, did not hesitate when sharing his favorite thing about the Marion Art Center's “Arts in the Park” festival: the people.

Koleshis, who welds recycled and re-purposed metal into animals, faces, and other forms, said unlike larger festivals, the atmosphere is intimate and he encounters an enthusiastic crowd.

Tessa Morgan, owner of Flying Pig Pottery, agreed.

“People are so friendly. Every year you see the same locals, and they are supportive of the artists,” said Morgan, who sold functional stoneware adorned with marine life and fantastical creatures like Mermaids.

Last Saturday, dozens of artists displayed and sold their works amid a teeming crowd in Marion's Bicentennial Park, at the corner of Spring and Main streets. Live music from Yesterdays Country Band invigorated the crowds.

Marion Art Center's juried festival takes place every July, and features talented artists local to the area and their ware – including photography, paintings, ceramics, jewelry, fabrics and other art.

Often the art is a new twist on a popular art form. For example, photographer Doug Hockman sold mesmerizing photos, set on wood panels, of abstract beach scenes that he took using longer exposure times. They could easily be mistaken as paintings.

Artist Remmi Franklin sold aerial colorful pictures of Cape Cod and other well-known geographic regions using a combination of paint, paper and patterns.

For the first time this year, Susan LeBlanc Brum of Hog Wild Pottery demonstrated her talent live. Brum, who performed her art in front of Anthi's Drawing Room on Spring Street, is a former medical lab technician who has taken part in pottery making since high school, which she now sells full time.

Brum threw clay on a spinning wheel, which she slowly shaped into vases (her other creations included berry bowls, casserole dishes, yarn dishes, and others).

“I've had to put in my 10,000 hours to learn perfection,” she said.