EVENT DETAILS

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15 & SUNDAY, AUGuST 16, 2026, 11AM-5PM

The Carnegie Art Spree! Festival is an event organized by the Board of the Carnegie Art Center and will take place in the City of Tonawanda on Canal Street. Free parking is available in the Manhattan Street Parking Lot (North Tonawanda), behind Canal Street (HUB parking), or there is ample street parking within the surrounding areas. Food trucks will be on-site and there are also a variety of cafés and restaurant options within the surrounding downtown district. The Gateway Harbor stage will feature light, live music to enjoy and is located near picnic tables and seating. Public restrooms are availableat the HUB facility behind Canal Street. Admission to the event is free for visitors.

WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR

  • After a few years of planning, artist feedback, and overall consideration for brick and mortar businesses, our event will be centralized on Canal Street in the City of Tonawanda.

  • Non-refundable application fees have been introduced to help us plan better for artists. Festivals are a lot of moving parts and our non-profit does its best navigating challenges with artist attendance and booth layouts. If accepted, this payment will be applied towards final booth fees.

  • Our event time has shifted to 11am-5pm to align with the North Tonawanda Merchants event and the Albany Symphony performance scheduled for Saturday, August 15.

JURIED PRIZES

There will be prizes awarded for each category (e.g. “Best of Painting”) and Best in Show. If your business would like to sponsor an award, please see our sponsorship page here. Prizes will be awarded on Saturday, August 15.

SPONSORSHIPS & COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

If you would like to become a sponsor of the CAS! please download or fill out our online form here. If you would like to request a poster for your business please use our contact form here.

ARTIST SET-UP

Each artist will be allotted a 12x12 space. Volunteers will be on-site to check in and direct where assigned spaces are. Artists will be allowed access to the closed roads the morning of Saturday, August 15. Artists are responsible for bringing their own tent, weights, tables, etc. and set-up/breakdown of their displays. Tents will remain in place overnight. The CAS! ends at 5pm on Sunday, August 16, and at this time artists will be allowed access to the closed roads to pack up.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

We will be hosting several non-profits with a focus on the arts and culture in Western New York. We encourage you to stop by their booths and learn more about their mission and how to support these spaces in our region.

VOLUNTEERING

If you would like to volunteer to help with this event, please fill out our volunteer form. We will need volunteers to help check in and direct artists, assist with the Carnegie Art Center tent, and help our street team promote the festival.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Please use our contact form and a Board member will respond to your inquiry.