ARTS Oil City

08/27/2026

The OIL CITY SUMMER OF ART continues this weekend!! Next up are the literary artists! The Oil Region Library Association 6th Annual Oil Region Festival of the Book takes place Saturday and the weather is looking like it will be perfect for this outdoor event.

Grab your friends and family and take advantage of this great opportunity to meet the writers and many artists who illustrate their own publications. One more opportunity for you to SHOP LOCAL and SUPPORT THE CREATIVE PROFESSIONALS WHO CONTRIBUTE TO THE BEAUTY AND VIBRANCY OF OUR COMMUNITY!

08/21/2026

It has been a crazy busy summer in our arts town! Artists from around our community have stepped up to bring new vision, ideas, opportunities and creative energy to downtown and it's incredibly heartwarming and inspiring to me. Don't miss out on the unique opportunity to watch 16 artists at work in town square tomorrow.

Mural Fest came about through a collaborative effort between Oil Region Alliance, Oil City Main Street Program, Kaleb Lewis of The Fallen Shoppe and Rafi Perez of Rafi And Klee Studios. Back in the winter, ORA's Outdoor Recreation Program Manager, Kim Harris reached out to Stevette at Main Street to bring a unique grant opportunity to her attention. Stevette shared the opprtunity and artists Kaleb and Rafi volunteered to partner together to apply for the grant and develop the event! It's such a wonderful collaboration and the art created this weekend will have long term homes in our community. Rafi, Kaleb and Klee have put in a tremendous amount of work to make this happen. They have been supported by many volunteers and the Oil City Main Street Program's Public Art Committee.

Grab your friends and family tomorrow and stop in to Oil City Town Square on the northside to watch artists work, enjoy the creative energy and cast your votes! See the schedule in the shared post from Be Here Venango. While you are at it, please thank all of the artists and volunteers who have the vision and dedication to put on events like this in our community!

Mural Fest is funded by a grant from the Vanguard Charitable Live Better Fund In Memory of Emma Burket Newman.

🎨 Something colorful is taking over Oil City this weekend!

Mural Fest is here! 🖌️✨ Oil City Main Street’s first live mural festival is bringing artists and the community together to watch public art come to life right before our eyes!

📍 Town Square, in front of 100 Seneca
📅 Friday, Aug. 21 + Saturday, Aug. 22
🎟️ FREE + family-friendly!

TODAY | 11 AM–6 PM: Get a behind-the-scenes look as artists prep, sketch, and begin transforming their panels.

SATURDAY | 11 AM–6 PM: It’s Festival Day! Watch 16 mural panels come to life, inspired by local nature, recreation, trails, and biking.

🎨 Saturday Schedule:
11 AM – Festival Opening + DJ
1–2 PM – Sponsor Spotlight + VIP Hour
2–3:30 PM – Live Painting + Roving Artist Q&A
3:30–4:30 PM – People’s Choice Voting
5:15–5:45 PM – Closing Ceremony + People’s Choice Winner
5:45–6 PM – Group Photos with Artists + Finished Murals

Plus enjoy 🎶 music, 😊 face painting, 🖍️ a kids’ chalk area, and local food & drinks throughout the day!

🌦️ Rain or shine! If Saturday's weather moves the festival indoors, everything will shift right across the street to the Downs Building storefront.

We LOVE seeing more public art, creativity, and events that give people another reason to Be Here. ❤️

Come watch Oil City get a little more colorful this weekend! 🎨

08/17/2026

CONGRATULATIONS to Oil City Main Street Program and Oil City Arts Council for a fantastic ! So very many people put in a tremendous amount of work to make both Friday night over Oil Creek and Saturday night over the Allegheny River wonderful for the community. Thank you to everyone who made both nights a big success.

08/15/2026

BRIDGEFEST DAY 2 has begun! Oil City Main Street Program hosted a fantastic family friendly event last night and tonight’s big event is put on by Oil City Arts Council. Grab your friends and head to the bridge to enjoy your evening overlooking the Allegheny Wild and Scenic River! Music, food, beverages and lots of art! Jae Austen Art and The Rhoads Gone Rogue have created something special. Knittier, The Melting Empourium, and other local creative professionals have been busy making products for today. And Kaleb Lewis has set upThe Fallen Shoppe where the bridge troll makes his annual appearance.

Artists, if I’ve missed you, please tag your business in the comments!

07/29/2026

In case you missed it last week, the The Derrick published a front page article about our Artist Interviews Watch Party!

07/28/2026

I would like to give a big shout out to Ashley from Be Here Venango and Venango Area Chamber of Commerce, and my colleagues Emily & Raven from Oil Region Alliance, for their participation in last weeks Artist Interviews Watch Party. Attendees - both locals and visitors from out of town - really appreciated having access to all of the information you displayed on your tables. Thanks very much for partnering with us to share all the reasons to live here and visit here!

07/27/2026

So many awesome things happen here in the summer - it's hard to keep up and fit in everything you want to do! As part of PA250, The Oil Region Alliance planned an Epic float down the Allegheny river, and experienced outdoors people have come from around PA and surrounding states to participate. The Epic Allegheny Odyssey kicked off with a celebration last night and participants hit the water this morning!
The public is invited to attend special events each day of the odyssey. Check out the schedule here and make plans to join in the educational parts of the week and meet the adventurists who are doing the weeklong float!

07/27/2026

If you weren't able to make it to the Artist Interviews Watch Party last week, you missed a really nice event! The evening was filled with positive energy, inspiration, and appreciation for both the creatives that live here and the region in general. After the screening, the featured artists took to the stage for a panel discussion where they answered questions, and audience members shared feedback as well.

The film is now available for you to watch and share on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/cfhyTzgzKfk?si=-gj-y6JbLMr0Nvzy

It is 30 minutes in total and features interviews with:

Kaleb Lewis, Multi-Media Artist and Special Effects Makeup Expert, The Fallen Shoppe

Jamie Bastello, Opera Singer, Jamie Bastello LLC.

Kelsey May, Family and Wedding Photographer, Kelsey May Photography

Marcy Hall, Painter and Mural Artist, Marcy Hall Art and Co-owner Woods & River Coffee

CJ Hurley, Painter, Mixed Media and Architectural Designer, CJ Hurley Century Arts

Rafi (Painter, Mural Artist and Mixed Media) and Klee (Jewelry Artist and Musician) Rafi And Klee Studios

Filming and Production by Devin Zagar of 7 Foot Productions & Marketing

Enjoy!

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

07/24/2026

Oil Heritage Festival is in full swing and it's been a great week for the arts in Oil City! The Artist Interviews Watch Party on Tuesday night was fantastic - an evening filled with inspiration and beautiful energy for the entire local arts community.

The Oil Heritage Festival Art Show, sponsored by Oil City Arts Council, opening event on Wednesday night was a resounding success. AND, now it's time for everyone to enjoy the art that has been submitted by youth, amateurs, and professionals from around the region. This annual celebration of creativity and arts in Oil City has evolved to reflect the fact that businesses all around town have embraced the arts and the creators who help make our community vibrant.

Kaleb Lewis organized this years show, along with a host of dedicated volunteers. They are presenting ARTSCAPE Walking Art Tour. The show is in businesses around both the North and South sides. Pick up maps at participating locations and thank each business for supporting the arts as you go around this weekend!

The Fallen Shoppe
Baked Goods From Heaven
Clifford’s Carpets & Rug Gallery
Core Goods
Cork n Screw
Sage & Saints Boutique Gallery
Transit Art Gallery & Gifts
The Exchange
Oil City Library
Williams Travel Plus
Woods & River Coffee

Many of these businesses have been participating in our annual Artists Sunday event and now even more have stepped up to embrace hosting art all over Oil City!