33rd Annual Broad Ripple Art Fair 4 - Indianapolis Art Center - May 14, 2003 - 4 stars

May 10-11. The not-great weather only demonstrated how well the Indianapolis Art Center is organized and accommodating to attendees and artists under the weirdest of weather conditions. The BRAF turned out to be like a boot camp for artists, complete with thunderstorms, tornado warnings, high winds and cold weather dipping 10-15 degrees below what local forecasters promised. After dodging threatening green skies Saturday, there were a few ideal hours of sunshine and kettle corn aroma wafting through the air. It was so cold on Sunday that the Starbucks booth ran out of coffee. One exhibitor said that if an artist could make it through the weekend, then every art fair after would be a piece of cake. Optimism prevailed through this test of endurance as tents flew and ceramics crashed. Mud pits and rising White River water forced some artists to move to higher ground after the deluge of Saturday morning. A few left altogether. There was a State Fair aroma in the air from the straw salvaging the grounds. The hard-core and generous volunteers who braved it all defitiely earned the art fair wings and will be remembered (Betty, you rock!) for their tour of duty. Kudos to the staff for all their hard work, which is an understatement. Attendance for this fund-raiser was evidently low but that turned out to be of great benefit for the serious shoppers. To their advantage, lines were short and booths were easy to maneuver through. I spoke to several artists who were pleased with their sales while others were taking things in stride. If you stayed home, consider renewing your IAC membership soon. – Mary Lee Pappas