ClydeFEST 2010 was a Huge Hit

Big, BIG Thanks to everyone who helped make the 9th Annual ClydeFEST such a huge success! Chatham Arts and Team ClydeFEST send a “gi-normous” shout-out to all of our Participants, Entertainers, Volunteers, and the Good Folks of Bynum who shared their magical neighborhood with us. We had hoped for 750 visitors and ended up with about 1100 happy, laughing, smiling faces to help us honor our friend Clyde, making it indeed the “Best-FEST” yet.

We look forward to seeing you all back again next year for a very special 10th annual ClydeFEST!

PS– We still have a handful of children’s size ClydeFEST t-shirts available for sale at Pittsboro Toys.   Stop by and pick some up!

Welcome to ChathamArts Official ClydeFEST 2010!


Clyde JonesThe 9th Annual ClydeFEST, to be held on Saturday April 17th 2010 at the Bynum Ball Field, is ChathamArts’s premier spring event. (There’s a rain date of April 18, from 1-5, but it wouldn’t dare rain!) The festival brings kids, young and old, together to celebrate the life and work of the world-renowned Outsider Folk Artist and Critter Master Clyde Jones of Bynum, NC. For many years Clyde has charmed and delighted his many admirers from all over the world as he unleashes his fantastic “Critters” from cedar logs using only his trusty chainsaw, a few big nails and the odd plastic flower or old shoe. ClydeFEST is ChathamArts’ big chance to expand on Clyde’s motto, “It’s all about the children”, by creating a wholesome family fun day that features clever games, whimsical art, yummy eats, and good time music and entertainment.

Clydefest09clydeFESTLast year’s 8th Annual ClydeFEST was by many regarded as our “Best-FEST” yet. It was chuck full of all manner of fun and games and entertainment and good food and the over 500 visitors from all over the great state of North Carolina and beyond would be happy to tell ya just that.

clydeFESTclydeFESTNow getting on to the 9th Annual ClydeFEST 2010 we’re real pleased to tell ya that it’s shaping up to be a real humdinger. Again there’ll be all them wonderful handmade, homespun ClydeFEST games like Critter Toss, Mailbox Madness, and the Tire Patch. And as always in Critterville, the kids will get to have tons of fun painting and glittering Clyde’s Critter Cut-Outs.

Baron von Rumblebuss at ClydeFESTOn the Big Stage we’ve got a truly amazing line-up of performers including Tommy Edwards and Friends, Happy Dan the Magic Man, NC Girls Rock’s singing sensation Nyssa, Cole Park, The Northwood Jazz Band and Sandbox. You should also know that there’s a mess of other fun stuff going on including Storytelling in the Small Tent, Ubi the Clown, Karen the Hula Hoop Queen, Face Painting, Pony Rides, a Drum Circle with Matt Vooris, Mr. Jones’ Tattoo Parlour, and a student art exhibit, ‘Over The Fence’.

clydeFEST‘Course we gotta get to bending yer ear some about our Extra Special Guests like Folk Artist Peter Loose and his family who once again will make the trip from Hull, Georgia in the Clyde-Mobile, with their rare African Tortoises in tow. And then there’s Scott Blackwell, founder of the Folk Artists’ Foundation and the Immaculate Baking Company of Flat Rock, NC, who’s gonna bring his mobile bakery to the Bynum Ball Field so that the kids could decorate and bake their own Critter-shaped cookies. 

clydeFESTclydeFESTThen when it comes to yummy eats we’ll have fabulous food from the BBQ Joint, Chatham Marketplace, Barney’s Hot Dogs and joining us this year for the first time is the Magical Liberacion Juice Bus. Also on the seen will be Local Non-Profits like Bynum Community Garden, Friends of the Pittsboro Memorial Library, Heads–Up & Cant-r, and the Haw River Assembly who will provide fun edu-activities.

OH!  And we can’t forget to mention Clyde Jones, the Critter Master himself, will create outta cedar with his own two hands…and well a chainsaw…and, uhm, some nails and some other bits… one of his World Famous Critters, right before your very eyes! Then a live auction for that very same Critter will be led by none other than The Mayor of Pittsboro, Randy Voller.

clydeFEST ClydeFEST So okay then there ya go that’s the skinny on this year’s ClydeFEST. Tell all your friends, pack up the kids and come on down for a Super Family Fun Day! We can’t wait to see ya!

About Clyde

clydefest09-critter crossing

by York WIlson

In case you’ve been wondering what Clyde keeps himself busy with other than ClydeFEST, here’s a quick recap of some of the fun he’s had this year. Our famous friend has been on the road a lot!  He’s been to the Fearrington Folk Art Show in February, the Ocracoke Festival in the summer, Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, and starred in yet another documentary. He delivered several new pieces to the permanent collection at American Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore and he even made a star appearance in New York City!

clydeFEST 09 mother and child
photo courtesy Bergdorf Goodman

That’s right, folks, Clyde had his very own display window at NY’s most elegant and exclusive store, Bergdorf Goodman (or, as Clyde likes to call it, “Birddog’s”) on Fifth Avenue. Right there with an enormous Divine in one window and the giant pink poodle, Fifi, in the main entrance, Clyde’s critters stopped all sidewalk traffic as part of the American Visionary Arts Museum’s summer blockbuster show in the Big City. It was indeed a fabulous site the likes of which NYC has never seen!

When Clyde is home in Bynum he’s always entertaining friends – school groups and art collectors alike - so feel free to stop in and say hello!

Articles, Photos, and Video Links

ClydeFEST documentary preview by Khang Mai
clyde and mikhail, film by Linda Booker
clydefest 09

Thanks to our friends!

bbq joint
The Barbecue Joint
Chapel Hill
weaver street realty

Weaver Street Realty
captain john's dockside restaurant
Captain John's
Dockside Restaurant

Chapel Hill
shakori hills
Shakori Hills
Chatham County
crooks corner
Crook's Corner
Chapel Hill
Chatham Homes Realty
Chatham Homes Realty
Chatham County