From the bridge to the school on Main Street in historic downtown Saluda more than 60 artists will exhibit their work at the fifth annual Arts & Music Festival this Saturday, May 17 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Promoting Saluda&squo;s art heritage, the Saluda Business Association is proud to sponsor this dazzling diversity of art media including oil, watercolor, and acrylic paintings, pottery, wood turning, sculpture, jewelry, painted furniture, stained glass, photography, and more.

At the Pavilion in McCreery Park in Saluda a lineup of musical talent will start performing at 10 a.m. In addition to art exhibits, festival goers will be entertained by a variety of musical performances from Polk County High School Percussion Ensemble, The Lone Derangers, Aaron Burdett, Phil and Gaye Johnson, Stereofidelics, and the Front Porch Blues Band.

A special &dquo;Saluda Art Exhibit&dquo; will be on display at the Saluda Senior Center on Greenville Street. More than 20 Saluda artists will display works of art, some of who are internationally acclaimed.

Artwork will be judged and awards given in two categories: Group 1: pottery, jewelry, woodworking, stained glass, and other media. Group 2: sculpture, paintings, photography, prints, and drawings. A &dquo;Best Booth&dquo; will also be awarded for the overall quality of the work and also how the work is displayed.

The Saluda Art and Music Festival have a group of prestigious judges for its fifth anniversary. Jeanne H. Parker is the treasurer and artistic director of Tryon Painters and Sculptors as well as the curator for Gallery I located in the Tryon Fine Arts Center. She is an artist with a special interest in textures, creative aspects, and emotional response to a subject. Her work is displayed in collections in New York, Canada, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Michael Brodeur is associate professor in studio art at Furman University. Besides exhibiting his own work widely, Mr. Brodeur has been chair of the Foundation Program at the New England School of Art and Design and has taught at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton. He founded the visual arts department at South Carolina&squo;s Governor&squo;s School for the Arts and Humanities.

Bill Ingham owns the Trade Street Gallery Coffeehouse in Tryon, which displays local art. He says, &dquo;I am a lover of art in all mediums.&dquo; In his gallery he has selected for display watercolors, oils, wood carvings, wood turnings and pottery. As an artist, he creates tables, easels and yard sculpture out of copper and tile. His work can be found in Polk County as well as in galleries near Columbia, S.C.

Lynn Cass is the executive director of Macon Arts in Macon, Ga. She has provided leadership for placing the arts in the forefront of community activities. Over the years she has received recognition and many honors for her professional activities and contributions to Georgia art and business.

&dquo;Every year our festival grows with new artists participating and increasingly more interest from visitors from both North Carolina and South Carolina. This is a day for celebrating the art culture that continues to grow in Saluda,&dquo; said Cathy Jackson, spokesperson for the Saluda Business Association.

Nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Saluda gives visitors a chance to experience a slower pace of life, a warm community spirit, good food, leisurely strolls among tree-lined streets of lovely Victorian homes, and an opportunity to browse the many distinctive shops along historic Main Street.