When Dave Schell started working at Main Street Mount Joy, he offered the front windows at 55 E. Main St. for local artists to display their work on a rotating basis. Inspired by the art, Schell decided to expand beyond Main Street Mount Joy's storefront.

The Festival of the Arts will be held on Friday, Jan. 27, from 5 to 8 p.m. and on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at locations throughout downtown Mount Joy.

"I decided to have an event in the winter to bring people out and inside businesses, when the business is usually slower because of the weather and time of the year," said Schell, who is the executive director of Main Street Mount Joy. "This is our fourth year holding the event. It's a great way to introduce people to local artists and a great way for the artists to display their work."

Schell remarked that 13 places will have art from 18 artists on display for the festival. "We have ceramics, oil painters, jewelry, crocheted items, a chalkboard artist, crafters, woodworking, a cartoonist," he shared. "It is a wide mix of media being displayed. We will have a live art demo from Tina Kreiner."

People can pick up a map of the art locations at the Main Street Mount Joy office, and a map will be available on the organization's Facebook page as well. "It is a walking show, so you can walk from one space to another along Main Street and to Bube's Brewery," Schell explained. "Artists will be stationed in each space, and you will have a chance to talk with them, ask questions, look and purchase from the artist."

Schell noted that the festival has been well received in the past, and he's looking forward to seeing people out and about in Mount Joy. "This event will allow people who are interested in learning more about our local art scene to introduce themselves to art," he said. "Since the artist will be stationed with their work, it is a wonderful opportunity to ask an artist about their thought process; what tools, supplies or equipment they use; and what inspires them to create their art. This event is also a great way to discover something new downtown since you'll be walking in and out of businesses you may not have visited before."

In addition to individual artists at each location, the Milanof-Schock Library, 1184 Anderson Ferry Road, Mount Joy, will hold a Student Art Show during the Festival of the Arts on Jan. 28, and Donegal Substance Abuse Alliance, 78 E. Main St., will hold the Art Heals Art Show both days of the festival.

Parking for the Festival of the Arts will be available along Main Street as well as behind St. Mark's United Methodist Church in the parking lot off Appletree Alley. For more information on the Festival of the Arts, visit the Main Street Mount Joy Facebook page.