A few years ago local artist Betsy Bohrer, a street festival artist for 30 years, decided to reinvent herself. Thus, Fine Art at the Magnolia was born. Now, the festival is preparing to return for its 6th annual indoor fine art show this year, as it welcomes 19 highly accomplished artists from all over the state of Florida to the Magnolia Building on Lake Mirror. 

Boher has buried her heart and soul into the festival. She serves as artist, curator, and creator of the festival. 

“There came a time in 2017 that the care needs for my family changed, requiring me to stay close to home,” said Boher. “Drawing from the vast amounts of experience and knowledge I gained of the working artists life as small business owners – I built on that – in creating Fine Art at the Magnolia – Fine Art Show & Scholarship.”

The 19 artists and craftsmen she has curated for this year’s show all work across eight different mediums including glass, clay, jewelry, sculpture, paintings, wood, enamels and fiber. This creates a wide spectrum of diverse art available for the public to get to witness at this year’s show. This year’s lineup of artists will also feature Harlow Manning, this year’s scholarship winner. 

“Year one, 2017, was a challenge in being the first year and the usual learning curves applied,” Boher says. “The city of Lakeland, the artists of FAM, and the community supporters all very much like being a part of [what I like to call] a “FAM-ily.” There is a lot of love that surrounds our little fine art show of awesomeness. It shows strongly in our continued growth, year after year!”

Fine Art at the Magnolia is co-sponsored by the City of Lakeland Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Department, and will take place on August 20-21 inside the beautiful historic Magnolia Building, next to the iconic Hollis Gardens in downtown Lakeland. Admission is free and open to the public. Saturday the show is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday people are welcome to attend from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.