The 28th annual Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts will provide a showcase for approximately 300 pieces created by 210 artists this weekend in Joseph.

The three-day juried art show at the Joseph Community Center will open with a festive Friday artists’ reception from 7 to 10 p.m. Free-to-the-public viewing is planned 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

In addition to the art show, activities include art demonstrations, workshops, art auctions and sales, the “en plein air” competition and a Quick Draw event that features lively music, hors d’oeuvres and no-host bar.

“I haven’t seen the art yet, but I know the artists are outstanding, and we are expecting a fantastic festival,” said Carolyn Gilbert Tuesday, June 1, while starting to set up for the weekend show. Gilbert serves as 2010 co-chairperson, along with Karen Kearns and David Riley.

She said that while the majority of the artists live in Wallowa County and the rest of Oregon, a few live as far away as Florida and Paris, France.

Art viewers are invited to vote for their favorite piece of art for the coveted People’s Choice award and People’s Choice in Photography. This year photography will receive extra attention because it is the category singled out for the 2010 Best of Medium Award.

The art entries are all for sale and many art pieces always find new homes by the end of the festival.

There is a $25 charge for the Friday reception for a first chance to look at the art. Wine tasting in a take-home painted wineglass, hors d’oeuvres, an opportunity to mingle with all the artists and music by Tom Hutchison are also planned. Advance tickets for this popular event are available from the Bookloft in Enterprise and The Sheep Shed and Stewart Jones Designs. A limited number of tickets is usually available at the door.

Jessica Plattner, associate professor of art at Eastern Oregon University, will be featured artist and judge at the 2010 festival.

Plattner has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Fulbright Scholarship to Mexico, and was also one of 10 national finalists for the 2008 Miami University Young Painters Competition for the William and Dorothy Yeck Award.

Art-lovers will be able to watch artists entered in the En Plein Air event in action today (Thursday) and Friday during their paint-out days.

“Not only is there spectacular scenery to paint, the downtown Joseph galleries have joined with the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts Committee in sponsoring the 2010 event. We have $1,000 in prize money and the plein air artwork will also be displayed in the galleries for the public to see and purchase,” said event organizer Leslie LeViner.

Maps of the paint-out sites are available at Kelly’s Gallery on Main, Valley Bronze Gallery, The Sheep Shed and Up Town Art

Saturday evening the show at the community center will close in time for the Quick Draw event at 7 p.m. in the old log bank building at 402 N. Main St., Joseph. A dozen or so artists will create a finished piece of art in an hour and a half, while on-lookers sip wine, enjoy treats and listen to music. All of the are will be sold by silent auction.The cost is $6 (free to Wallowa Valley Arts Council members).

Members also have a chance to take home a piece of art from the “Artists of the Wallowas” revolving collection for the next year.

“We have a very diverse line-up of artists this year, a little something for everyone,” said Leah Johnson, co-chairperson of the event, along with Will Roundy. “The Quick Draw is a great place to pick up unique pieces of artwork at very reasonable prices,”

Wallowa County artists to participate in this year’s Quick Draw are Mike Koloski, Leslie LeViner, Tim Norman, Malcolm Phinney, and Robert Procter. They will be joined by Shari Dallas, Pendleton; Bonnie Griffith, Walla Walla; Laura Kemp, Poulabo, Wash.;Dawn Lepper and Ruth Yeates, La Grande; and John Wilson, Lapwai, Idaho.

For information: (www.wallowavalleyarts.org/a>); 541-426-6534 and 541-432-7535 (art festival) or 541-432-9050 (quick draw).