Festival saitiates the senses

Trapeze artists, middle school choir groups, cotton candy, a chair massage and a lollipop tree all in the same place.\nThe annual Third and High Festival of the Arts celebrated its 20th anniversary Saturday and Sunday at St. Charles Church. The event is a fundraiser for both the parish and the school. It usually brings in about $20,000 and is split equally between the two. \n"I've called it a 'feastival,'" Ken Jones, head of the festival committee said, "because that's what it really is. It's a feast for the senses."\nThe event was founded in 1983 by the Parent Teacher Organization and has "grown in size and types of activities ever since," Jones said. Underneath blue, green and white tents that dotted the church and school property was a diverse array of local vendors and food selections. \n"The biggest hit and biggest seller for us is the food," said Pat Winter, who has been involved with the event since the beginning. "We don't bring in any outside food. All of the food is done in-house." One of the exhibitions, the bakeshop, even featured cooking demonstrations.\nIn addition to the food, visitors were wowed from above by the High Flyers, a local trapeze group that performs every year. \n"I would think the High Flyers is a big draw for people," Winter said. \nIU class of '93 alumnus David Weber is a member of the group. He got involved while he was at IU and has recently returned to live in Bloomington. \n"For me, the best part of performing is just doing it," he said. "You know a lot of people enjoy watching it."\nAbout 450 volunteers, drawn from parish and school families, showed up to work sometime during the course of the festival.\n"It's fun setting up because you get to ride in back of the big trucks and stuff," said 13-year-old St. Charles student Craig Thomas. \nAside from the trucks, he said he also enjoyed listening to the jazz band. A stage was set up for the large number of musical acts the festival featured. The eclectic sounds of Tyron Cooper, the IU a capella group Ladies First and the Ron Plecher Band's original rock are just a few of the artists who performed. \nBarbara Fuqua, a local artist, was one of the vendors displaying and selling her own work. Fuqua had original pottery and oil paintings on display.\n"It's my first year exhibit, and it's been a lot of fun," Fuqua said.\nBetween 4,500 and 5,000 people attended the festival sometime during the weekend and that number is increasing each year. \n"One thing to note, especially for IU students themselves, is that this is an event for the entire community, including IU students," Jones said. "Next year they should come out because it's a great time, great food"