Tents line Station Street in Brookline Village, with vendors selling everything from pottery and paintings to popsicle stick lampshades and blown glass pitchers. In the background, a jazz band sets the mood with a smooth accompaniment.
On May 2, 2026, ArtsBrookline held its fifth annual Brookline Village Arts Festival, where artists from the Brookline and Boston areas showcased and celebrated their work, accompanied by live music and food vendors.
Festival organizer Amy Emmert said the festival was originally an indoor event called Open Studios, but when COVID hit, it was adapted to maintain an opportunity for the community to connect.
“We tried this little street market, and we were absolutely mobbed with people that wanted to get outside, because it was 2021, a year and a half after COVID started,” Emmert said. “People just want an outdoor market to go to, [where] there are all kinds of people, all kinds of art.”
Jim Grace, a festival attendee, said he thought the festival was an important opportunity for the community to connect.
“Art brings people together. People are shopping. It’s good for small businesses. These are individual artists that need these festivals to sell their wares, meet people and build their small businesses. So it’s wonderful. It’s a great opportunity,” Grace said.
Sophomore Conner Rosenblatt, a painter and ceramicist from Waltham High School, said he appreciates the opportunity to share his work in Brookline.
“[Brookline Village] is a great place to be, selling and on the street. I love being outside, and it’s right next to the T,” Rosenblatt said.
Emmert said the festival has grown to host a diverse array of artists from across the area, including painters, printmakers, jewelers, fabric artists, photographers, collage artists, ceramicists and even furniture makers.
“We got 70, 75, different [artists] out there. And we filled up the registration in three and a half weeks, which was shocking. That never happened before,” Emmert said.
Emmert said that the festival aims to bring artists together and give them a platform to share their work with the community.
“We want to represent people in Brookline and people around Brookline,” Emmert said. “It’s a community event, and that’s what we’re trying to do: feel good, and get people out there to sell their art.”
