Thanks to the overwhelming success of the 2023 Winter Festival and the generosity of Park School, the 44th annual Roycroft Winter Festival will take place in the Rich Family Activity Center at Park. The larger size of this state of the art facility has made it possible for the Roycrofters at Large to expand the footprint of the festival to 35 booths and exhibitors, restoring the Roycroft Winter Festival to the largest festival in ten years! 

 

Event organizers have used this opportunity to reintroduce live art, demonstrations by Masters, artist presentations and seasonal programming, marking this as a return to the Festival that collectors and enthusiasts will recall from years past. Admissions to the festival is free of charge for Members and Patrons; please be sure to bring your membership credentials to redeem your voucher for admission! 

 

This year’s Roycroft Winter Festival features the work of Roycroft Masters and Artisans, two Roycroft Emerging Artist cohorts and a schedule of live and interactive art demonstrations by Roycroft Artisans and Masters throughout the weekend. RALA and Park are also joined by the Buffalo Society of Artists and other non-profit arts partners working alongside RALA in the WNY Arts community. Also, NEW to the Roycroft Winter Festival in 2024: Visitors with children can sit with Santa Claus from 11:00 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday or Sunday.

 

Master Henry Schmidt will present a live demonstration of his practice and a brief artist lecture between 10am and 12pm Saturday, followed by a demonstration of calligraphy and book arts by Master Linda Nagel Meyerr beginning at 1 pm. Artisan in Wood Karen Ernst will demonstrate spoon carving on Sunday morning, and Master Leah Corey will host a live beadwork session in her booth on Sunday afternoon. A roster of Buffalo Society of Artists Exhibiting Artists demonstrate from noon - 2pm on Sunday, making the weekend full of events sure to satisfy everyone.

 

This year’s Festival Poster highlights the work of Master CJ Hurley of Pennsylvania. “Winter Rose” is a significant work by Hurley and RALA is proud to spotlight this fine work as a collaborative celebration of the White Rose’s 20th anniversary. A limited series of  commemorative posters will be released for purchase at the Winter Festival to festival goers and available to membership following the festival. 

 

In furtherance of RALA’s mission to educate and foster, the work of Park School student Anna Dyshlovya will be highlighted as part of the 2024 Winter Festival as the first Emerging Park Artist. Dyshlova, originally from Ukraine, is a 17 year old painter currently residing in the United States and attending Park School of Buffalo. While here in the United States with her family, she has developed her process and her business practice to gain juried entry into various regional festivals, including Music is Art, the Lewiston Art Festival, Glen Park Festival and Tiferet JFS. 

 

Roycrofters at Large is proud and touched to have the opportunity to help Dyshlova hone her practice and will work with her to help develop a CV, a portfolio, proper pricing and assistance with sales. The work of Park Students of Note will also be represented at the festival.  Assembled work of Park Upperclassmen art students, recommended by Park School of Buffalo art faculty in collaboration with the Roycrofters at Large Emerging Artists Chair will be installed in the Park Art Booth. RALA and Park will also be joined by representatives of the The C. Stuart and Jane H. Hunt Art Gallery Emerging Artist Program. 

 

Park School’s proximity to both the northtowns and the City of Buffalo is in keeping with RALA’s mission to promote and further the evolution of Roycroft and an exciting opportunity to connect the Roycroft Renaissance with a broader segment of Western New York Arts & Crafts collectors. Park’s philosophy and shared tradition in the Arts & Crafts Movement represents significant mission overlap and shared vision, and RALA is pleased to partner with Park to further its charter and to expose what the East Aurora based Roycroft community has to a wider audience.

Raffle tickets for the RALA “Goodie Box” will also be available. This year’s box contains items created by Roycroft Artisans and Master Artisans valued at over $9,000. The drawing will be held in February 2026, at the 38th National Arts and Crafts Conference, at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. The winner need not be present