The 2011 Marblehead Festival of Arts is fast approaching, and Marblehead Patch has your guide to the festival's activities and events. Today, we will be detailing the schedule for Awards Night on Thursday and the festival's first day on Friday.

Thursday

On Thursday, at 6:30 p.m., The Festival of Arts Awards Ceremony will be held outside Abbot Hall. The ceremony will honor participating artists for "their outstanding works in crafts, drawing, mixed-media, painting, photography, printmaking, senior art, sculpture, student art, and writing.

Also, the recipients of the festival's Art Scholarship will be introdced: the Student Art Scholarship will be awarded to a graduating high school senior who is pursuing higher education in art; and a Milton Bloom Student Art Scholarship will be awarded to a student between the grades of 7 and 11.

Following the award presentations, art exhibits will be open from 7:45  to 9 p.m., at Abbot Hall, crafts, drawing, painting, and printmaking; St. Michael’s Church, mixed media and sculpture; Old Town House, photography; Unitarian Universalist Church, logo art, senior art, and writers’ world; and Old North Church, student art and youth art.

Friday

The Festival, Day 1

At 9 a.m. Friday, plein aire artists will seek out strategic locations to start Painting the Town. The public is invited to view art as it is being created.

At 10 a.m., Art Exhibits will open in Abbot Hall, St. Michael's Church, Old Town House, Old North Church, and Unitarian Universalist Church.

At 7 p.m., Alanna Manning Performing Arts gets underway as Alanna Manning with the Dave Mattacks Trio take the stage at Crocker Park. At 9 p.m. the MFoA Summer Film Festival will be screened at Crocker Park.

Marblehead Patch will be on hand for these events and will be taking photos and putting together an assortment of video slideshows. So be sure to check back in early next week.