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By Paige McBride
The Hernando County Fine Arts Council hosted its annual Art in the Park on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, 2025, and warmly welcomed the artists who were accepted into the show. The major weekend event celebrated its 40th year and took place at Tom Varn Park, located at 301 Darby Lane in Brooksville, Florida.
To put on this stellar art production, Chair Pedram Moghaddam and the entire Hernando County Fine Arts Council worked closely together with local businesses, first responders, highly skilled security teams, vendors, food truck owners, artist assistants, three professional fine art judges, fine artists, fine crafters, a poet and many musicians to provide a truly memorable experience. One hundred fifty fine artists and fine crafters applied to participate in the gigantic art exhibition, and out of the applicants, 110 were chosen.
The green scenery of Tom Varn Park provided an enjoyable backdrop for the estimated 17,000 guests and attendees who engaged with the artists while viewing and purchasing their art.
Upon entry to the art festival, lovers of art were greeted at two information tents, with the Student Art Tent at the front entrance and the Mural Demonstrators at the back entrance.
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Art in the Park guests witnessed live demonstrations performed by a flameworking artist, senOiH Glass, and several muralists created murals. Guests enjoyed listening to music playing on the Main Stage by bands Keemba On Da Drums, the Hernando Harmonizers, All Bets Are Off, Night Bliss and solo guitarists Joey Hudoklin and Danny Daniels. Children’s entertainment was sponsored by the Valentina Tomashoksy Foundation.
The granddaughter, Amelia Miller, of former Hernando County Fine Arts Council Member Jane Miller, presented her artworks for the first time. Amelia said, “I wanted to do this for the experience.” She likes doing new things and is comfortable with the crowd. She said the event was “fun and whimsical, like a fun garden party.” She describes her unique techniques of color usage in her paintings as being colors that “will pop out towards the eye,” even though lately, she “has been using a lot of beige paint,” she strives to bring the world into view with bolder, brighter colors. Unfortunately for her, after Sunday’s closing of the exhibition, she lost her “Mermaid” painting on the road between Dade City and Zephyrhills.
Brooklyn, New York Native Fine Artist Painter Ernesto Peña Jr. of Spring Hill participated as an exhibitor and learned “that Brooksville’s annual festival of Art in the Park is very popular. People have been driving for miles, at least from a 50-mile range.” He said he “met people from Tampa, Ocala and learned the vendors are from various cities around the country. He was very impressed by the show.” Ernesto was also very impressed with the turnout and the reaction he received from the people who came to see his work. He received many positive reviews and responses. His only complaint about the event was that it took place on Daylight Savings Time weekend, which meant all of the hardworking artists lost an extra much-needed precious hour of sleep. Other than that, he thinks that the annual event “is a wonderful thing for the community and the promotion of art and that the people that administered the events and the volunteers do a wonderful job!”
Fine Art Surreal Artist Nicole Wisniewski moved to Brooksville eight years ago and attended her first Art in the Park, fully knowing that one day she would attend and show her talent. She shared her infectious enthusiasm regarding the award-winning artists and stated she “appreciated all the encouragement artists were giving each other at Art in the Park.” And she is happy for all those who received awards if she didn’t congratulate the award winners in person.
All of the artists expressed gratefulness to the judges, Rocky Bridges, Judith Powers, and Michele Tuegel, for their knowledge of art and the challenging choices they made when judging the art competition. When asked if she knew any of the exhibiting artists, she said, “Yes, I make my rounds most years, and talking to the artists and people who love art is my favorite thing about the event, and I look forward to continuing to make friends through the event in the future.”
Noel Smith won the AITP Award of Excellence. “It’s so hard to put into words how I’m feeling right now. I just won my first major award at a large art festival, the award of excellence at Art In The Park Brooksville FL. It feels so surreal, it’s so easy for me to be ultra-critical about my own work. I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams, I would be where I’m at now when I started my art journey. This award means so so much to me, a validation of all my countless hours of hard work and perseverance to push myself every day. From the bottom of my heart I can’t thank you all enough for the support, encouragement, and love. It fuels me,” Smith said.
The future is bright for Brooksville’s annual Art in the Park, judging by its major success in its 40th year.
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