The bears will remain on display through Sept. 12.
EASTHAMPTON – The city is visited so often by wild bears that when Easthampton City Arts+ was looking for something to build a festival around, they were the natural choice.
“We took it on as a fun mascot,” Denise M. Riggs, Easthampton City Arts+ co-chair, explained on Saturday, at the kickoff of Bear Fest 2012, featuring nearly 100 decorated bears throughout downtown.
Some were large. Some were small. All were unique.
“Bears are cute . . . they’re something the kids relate to,” said Bear Fest volunteer Patricia Z. Coon.
“Luminous bear” was made of broken glass mirrors, “BEAR4ALL2C” blended in with a rooftop so passers-by had to use binoculars to spot him, and “Viva Easthampton!” looked like Elvis, that is, if he were a bear.
Fifty-two small tabletop bears were created by students in Easthampton, Southampton and Westhampton. They peeked out at visitors from store windows.
Bears will remain on display through Sept. 12.
C.J. Shelkey, 13, of Haydenville, said he liked going on the “bear hunt” to find the bears.
“I think it’s the best thing in this town that has ever really happened,” C.J. said. “I really enjoy it, and so does my grandma.”
His grandmother, Marguerite Roberts, said the Bear Fest is fun.
“I just love them all. The amount of work that’s put into them, the creativity,” Roberts said.
C.J. said his favorite was the “Luminous bear” made by Crystal Popko, of Ludlow, which shimmered like a disco ball, but he also liked “BEAR4ALL2C” by artist Rhys Davies.
“BEAR4ALL2C” also was a hit with 5-year-old Kailyn Cabrini, of Holyoke.
“That thing is so cool. It so blends in!” she told her parents and younger brother Colby, 2.
“They love this, and they’re only on bear number two,” said Kailyn’s mother, Kristin Cabrini.
“Steel Clad Bear,” in front of the Manchester True Value store, was created by Matt Evald Johnson, of Easthampton. True to its name, it was made of scrap steel that he welded together. All artists were given the same mold, either small or large. Many of the artists were with their bears, so they could answer questions.
“This is a little bit different from the other bears. It’s 100 percent sculpture,” he said.
Carol Ostberg, of Florence, had her “Pieces and Patches” bear, a colorful bear with a mix of patterns, by PufferSign.
“This is a great event and a lot of people work very hard to put it on,” Ostberg said.
Thomas W. Brown, senior vice president at Easthampton Savings Bank, the lead sponsor of the event, said people were out as early as 6 a.m. to see the bears. Brown said the bears made their street debut at 4 a.m.
Brown got into the spirit of the fest – he took advantage of the face painting and had a red bear print painted on his cheek.
The fest was “a huge success” when it was done in 2009, and Brown expects this year’s event to be even bigger.
Eric A. Snyder, executive director of the Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce, said the fest was expected to bring “thousands of visitors” to the city. Marcia K. Morrison, an Easthampton City Arts+ coordinating committee member, said the traffic from the event helps local businesses.
Said Riggs, “It brings attention to the artists in Easthampton and Easthampton as a cultural destination.”
Granby artist Gary Hallgren made his bear look like a clown. Artist Ruth Sanderson painted her bear in a pink paisley pattern.
“That’s one of the more unique ideas,” John C. Vaught, of Easthampton, told Sanderson.
Sanderson’s paisley bear got a thumbs up from Vaught’s 11-year-old cousin, Natalie Wilkinson, from Illinois.
Sanderson said she thought the mold looked like a stuffed animal, so she created a bear to look like one. Little girls had been posing for photographs with it all day, and that was her intent – to make people smile.
Kim Wilson, of Easthampton, brought her 4-year-old son, Gabriel, to Bear Fest.
“We are enjoying ourselves. I think it’s good. It gets people out and in the neighborhood, and gives us something to do,” she said.
The purpose of Bear Fest is to raise money for the arts and arts education, Riggs said. Visit EasthamptonBearFest.com to bid for a bear in the online auction; bidding starts in July.
Mayor Michael Tautznik, and state Rep. John W. Scibak, D-South Hadley, spoke at the event’s start.