Founded in 1983

In the early 1980s, business owners and residents felt that the uptown region was underutilized during the summer months. Illinois State University Art Department chairman Fred Mills met with local business owner Kup Tcheng, and from that single meeting, the Idea for the Sugar Creek Arts Festival was born.

In 1983, the event featured just 16 artists, all selling work from their car trunks. A lot has changed since then. Now hosting one hundred artists from an application pool often twice that amount, the event has been listed as one of the top 100 Art festivals in the nation. and regularly attracts crowds of more than 15,000 over its two days.

As juried festival, artists apply and are selected by an independent panel of practicing art professionals.