Scenic views abound all around Lake Nuangola, which is ringed by a path — from which this 2021 view was taken — where artists will be set up to paint as part of this year’s ARTfest open air art and music event at the lake, which is set for Saturday.
Rod Kaiser looks out across Lake Nuangola from a walkway over a swampy area at the edge of the lake in this 2021 photo. This weekend the public will be invited to enjoy art and music en plein air once again around the shores of a picturesque lake during Saturday’s Nuangola ARTfest.
Roger DuPuis | Times Leader
NUANGOLA — This weekend the public will be invited to enjoy art and music en plein air once again around the shores of a picturesque lake.
For the third year running, the The Wyoming Valley Art league, in conjunction with the Nuangola Lake Association, will host ARTFest, its annual open air art and music event, set for 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at the lake.
Starting in the morning, musical groups set up on the lakefront and artists walk around and paint.
“There is a footpath that wanders around the lake front so that anyone can walk around and enjoy the lake. Although it crosses private property, everyone is welcome and the homeowners don’t mind,” said Rod Kaiser, who is a member of the event committee. “That’s just the way it’s been since the beginning, over one-hundred years ago.”
Kaiser is a third-generation property owner on the shores of scenic Lake Nuangola, where his grandfather first built a summer home in about 1904. The festival, which debuted in 2021, was inspired by a similar, smaller painting event that ran for a few years in the early 2000s, Kaiser said then.
On one side of the lake there are several historic buildings, including the atmospheric old Nuangola Lake Association Pavilion and the chapel, where food and drink will be available, with the Susquehanna Brewing Company scheduled to be in attendance.
The league’s artists and some craft vendors will set up shop, and there will be musicians in the chapel, which is newly renovated and celebrating its 125th year, Kaiser said.
EVENT INFO AND SCHEDULE
Artist Walk
• 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.: Craft, food, wine and beer vendors at Nuangola Pavilion
• Noon-3 p.m.: Art and vino painting sessions by Tracey Picht
• All proceeds will support the Nuangola Pavilion renovation fund
Music
• 9-10:30 a.m.: Pon-“Tunes” on the Lake
• 11 a.m.-noon: Chapel, 36 Vandermark: Charles Havira
• Noon-1 p.m.: Chapel: Gracie Sinclair
• 2:30-3:30 p.m.: 15 Nuangola Ave.: Duck, Duck, Goose
• 5 p.m.: Lance Street Lakefront: John Dylanger Duo
• 7 p.m.: Lance Street Lakefront: Jon & Kate + Fate
Contacts
Gregory Koons, gmkoons@frontier.com, 570-899-7935
Rodney Kaiser, kaiserlaw@ptd.net, 570-709-2187
Margo Serafini, margoserafini@verizon.net, 570-510-4609
