Art What you Got was absolutely wonderful! We began the day with over forty artist vendors that brought everything but the kitchen sink, a little something for just about everyone. Lauren Toohey got in the spirit of the festival and created a sidewalk Ducktopus right in front of her booth –

At the beginning, Art What You Got had great promise, with visitors strolling the streets, taking a break on the church steps and wandering through the artists’ booths —

We had heard rumors about a storm front moving in. Sure enough, it hit at 2:30. Winds rushed down over Polish Hill, but our crew, the artists and the visitors kept the tents from blowing away. In the church yard, the whole tent looked like it was going to fly away. Luckily, there was minimal damage to artists’ work and no damage to property. Through the sudden onslaught, the band kept playing and the kitchen kept going —

Although almost half of the artists packed their wares after the storm, the musical entertainment kept at it. Joy Ike took the stage at 3PM, to the great delight of her burgeoning fan base here on Polish Hill —

The afternoon progressed with most of the planned activities. Terry Doloughty, Polish Hill Civic Association’s President, stepped up to the mic to announce the winners for our Chinese Auction items —

The festival was a grassroots effort, supported by members of the Polish Hill community and arts lovers everywhere. The city of Pittsburgh did their part — Citiparks sent a sound system and manager. Many thanks to Dan Riley of West Penn Rec for making this happen. So many people, neighbor and visitors, gave their time and resources to make this event a success. If it hadn’t been for the inclement weather, the festival would have rocked a lot harder than it did. But not by much! Many thanks to all of our volunteers, who, like Tom Yargo and Jim Stawski in the next picture, were sporting the lovely ArtWhatYouGot T-shirts —

For a full thank you, a list of artist vendors and a list of the bands that so kindly attended the festival, please see the ArtWhatYouGot MySpace page. For more festival goodness, watch the AWYG slideshow —