Downtown Wetumpka is gearing up for its fifth annual Wildlife Arts Festival on Saturday, October 24, a free event that runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. along the banks of the Coosa River. The festival blends fine art, field-sport traditions, family activities, and hands-on experiences across the historic riverfront, centered at The Kelly Fitzpatrick Center for the Arts at 301 Hill Street.
The event, known locally as WEWA, is presented by The Kelly Fitzpatrick Center for the Arts, according to SoulGrown. The gallery hosts two tied-together exhibitions, Art Gone Wild and the juried Alabama Wildlife Fine Arts Competition, which opened a few weeks ago on September 25 and will remain on view through November 13. The competition carries roughly $26,000 in total prizes, including a $12,000 Best of Show award, with winning artists announced the morning of the festival at 9:00 a.m. Jennifer Eifert serves as executive director of The Kelly Fitzpatrick Center for the Arts.
A Festival Rooted in a 90-Year Art Tradition
The gallery itself carries serious regional weight. It was named Best Alabama Art Gallery in Alabama Magazine's 2024 Best of Bama awards, and it offers views of the Coosa River from its outdoor balcony alongside year-round classes and exhibitions, as Islands reports. The center is named for John Kelly Fitzpatrick, a Wetumpka native and wounded World War I veteran who went on to become a prominent Southern regionalist painter and co-founder of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, according to the Dixie Art Colony Foundation. Fitzpatrick studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Académie Julian in Paris before returning home to paint Central Alabama's landscapes.
In 1933, Fitzpatrick co-founded the Dixie Art Colony along nearby Lake Jordan, which drew more than 140 artists between 1933 and 1948 and helped establish the area as a prominent Southern arts destination, per 1819 News. That legacy nonprofit, the Dixie Art Colony Foundation, was established in Wetumpka in 2015 before relocating its headquarters to nearby Prattville in August 2024, placing it closer to several historic colony sites spread across Autauga and Elmore counties. Just last month, The Kelly hosted the Alabama Watercolor Society's annual member showcase, commemorating Fitzpatrick's role as a co-founder of that society in 1940 and displaying handwritten organizational minutes alongside contemporary member work, according to The Wetumpka Herald.
Dock-Diving Dogs and Birds of Prey Join the Art
Beyond the gallery walls, the festival leans hard into field-sport traditions. DockDogs returns this year with Big Air, Extreme Vertical, and Speed Retrieve events, and festival attendees can register to compete with their own dog and a toy, per the festival's own event details relayed by SoulGrown. The Alabama Wildlife Fine Arts Competition itself is sponsored by the Alabama Wildlife Federation and LIV Development, tying the juried art show directly to the outdoor community the festival celebrates.
The Alabama Wildlife Federation, which is headquartered at the Lanark Estate in neighboring Millbrook and operates the 420-acre Alabama Nature Center along with a 23,000-square-foot NaturePlex, is presenting educational animal encounters at the festival, according to the Elmore County Economic Development Authority. Past festivals have featured birds-of-prey presentations from Raptor's Ridge and hands-on learning with alligators and snakes courtesy of the Alabama Nature Center. Legacy Partners in Environmental Education and Coosa River Adventures are also expected to share ways visitors can support native wildlife.
Live Music, Food Trucks, and a Growing Downtown
Rounding out the day, the festival features interactive workshops and live painting demonstrations, live music across two stages, and a lineup of regional vendors selling outdoor gear and handcrafted items alongside local food trucks. Youth-friendly activities are built into the schedule as well, making it a family-oriented draw rather than just an art-world event.
The festival grounds sit in a stretch of downtown Wetumpka along the Coosa River near Gold Star Park and the historic Bibb Graves Bridge, an area that gained national attention through HGTV's Home Town Takeover project, as Islands notes. Downtown Wetumpka also features scenic riverfront paths with views of Class II and III rapids. Free parking will be available near the gallery and the Coosa River bank for festival-goers.
Why a Town of 7,200 Draws a Statewide Crowd
Wetumpka serves as the county seat of Elmore County, which recorded a population of 7,220 in the 2020 U.S. Census even as the surrounding county has grown to more than 87,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Elmore County is recognized as one of Alabama's fastest-growing counties, giving the festival a built-in regional audience beyond the small downtown core. That growth tracks with a broader statewide trend: outdoor recreation generates roughly $6.6 billion annually in economic activity for Alabama, supporting initiatives like the Alabama Tourism Department's multi-year outdoor trails campaign, per Alabama Living.
Festival organizers say the event continues to support ongoing cultural programs at The Kelly Fitzpatrick Center for the Arts. Full festival information is available at thekelly.org/wewa, and The Kelly can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (334) 478-3366 for questions about vendor participation, DockDogs registration, or the juried art competition.
