Join us on February 1 & 2, 2025 for the 50th annual Mount Dora Arts Festival held on the streets of historic downtown Mount Dora, Florida. Experience 300 fine artists lined along the streets to showcase a vast array of incredible talent in this juried event. There will be entertainment, beer, wine, cocktails, music and festival food to round out the amazing weekend. The event runs 9am-5pm on Saturday and 9am-4pm on Sunday and is FREE to attend.
Registration is now OPEN for Non Juried and Business booths only. Juried Artist applications are closed.
Are you looking for information or tips on how to navigate and enjoy the Mount Dora Arts Festival as a Visitor?
Are you looking for information on how to participate as a BUSINESS or would like to SUPPORT the event with a Sponsorship?
Mount Dora Arts Festival 2025 Featured Artists
2025 Mount Dora Arts Festival Winners
Best in Show
TBD
Best in 2D
TBD
Best in 3D
TBD
Honorable Mention 2D
TBD
Honorable Mention 3D
TBD
Artists by SPACE in pdf TBD
Artists by Name in pdf TBD
Artists by Category in pdf TBD
2025 Poster Artist
Gary Hopcraft
Gary Hopcraft is a local artist who was born and raised in Mount Dora, Florida. Gary was one of the founding members of the Mount Dora Center for the Arts and helped to organize the very first Mount Dora Arts Festival in 1975. Festival poster images were introduced in 1980, and it was Gary who created the very first poster. Unfortunately, the poster images were not preserved until around 1985 and there is no record of the original artwork.
To celebrate the festival’s 50th year, Mount Dora Center for the Arts felt it befitting to ask Gary to come up with a poster image for the iconic event.
Gary’s inspiration for this year’s poster is “reflection” as we look back over 50 years of supporting thousands of artists through this now nationally recognized event.
Today, Gary continues to support the Art community by teaching classes, volunteering, and sitting on the board of Mount Dora Center for the Arts as an emeritus board member and advisor.
2025 Judges
Kim Watters
Kimberly Watters is a highly accomplished glass artist and educator based in Mount Dora, Florida. With a deep connection to her community, she has served as a board member for The Mount Dora Center for the Arts and has judged numerous local and national art events. She recently appeared on PBS as an expert on neurodiversity and the arts and is honored to be a judge for the 50th Annual Mount Dora Arts Festival.
Watters holds a BFA in Glass and a BS in Art Education from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and an MFA in Glass Sculpture from Alfred University. She has studied internationally, including in Murano, Italy, and at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. Her artwork has been exhibited widely, including at Urban Glass in Brooklyn, Scope Art in Miami, and the Prague Czech Gallery of Glass.
As a Professor of Art at Beacon College in Leesburg, Florida, Watters has taught for over a decade, working with neurodivergent students. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes individual expression and the transformative power of art. As an artist, she creates sculptural works in glass that explore perception, light, and memory, inviting personal reflection from the viewer. Through both her art and her teaching, Watters is dedicated to helping others express themselves, find connection, and realize their creative potential.
Jennifer Coolidge
Ms. McInnes Coolidge is an arts and non-profit consultant and curator who has spent her career working with artists and non-profit arts and social service organizations, most recently serving as the Director of Philanthropy for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lead Curator for Mills Gallery in Winter Park.
During her 30 years of experience as an arts administrator, Ms. McInnes Coolidge has served as Director of Development for the University of Florida, College of the Arts, raising more than $9.5 million during her tenure; Executive Director for the Museum of Florida Art in DeLand; Executive Director of the Florida Alliance for Art Education; and in arts education and curatorial positions for ACA, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, and The Arts Council in Winston-Salem, N.C., among others. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Florida House in Washington, DC; and is past president of the Florida Alliance for Arts Education and the Volusia County Cultural Alliance. She currently serves on the FAAE Advisory Board and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Florida Cultural Alliance and the Florida, USA, Wakayama, Japan Cultural Association.
