Des Moines Arts Festival has been ranked fifth in the nation in the fifth-annual reader’s poll of the Top 10 Art Fairs and Festivals in AmericanStyle magazine. The Festival, presented by The Des Moines Register, returns to Western Gateway Park on June 26-28, 2009 in Downtown Des Moines.

“We are thrilled to be recognized by the reader’s of AmericanStyle magazine and proud to have this event and Des Moines placed on the national stage,” Stephen King, Des Moines Arts Festival Executive Director said. “The Des Moines community has embraced this event, so it’s great to be receiving this national recognition.”

Ballots appeared in the August 2008 issue of AmericanStyle magazine and online beginning in May. A full write-up on each event ranked in the Top 10 will be available online and in the February 2009 issue of AmericanStyle magazine, the 2009 fairs and festivals guide, on newsstands later this month. The Festival was ranked No. 10 in the nation in last year’s reader’s poll.

“It [Des Moines Arts Festival] is a community-wide event that brings out the very best Des Moines has to offer. It’s not just the art-which is stupendous-it’s the environment, the ambience,” Jim Flansburg of Clive, Iowa, said to AmericanStyle.

175 professional visual artists have been invited to participate in next year’s juried art fair in 14 categories: 2-D Mixed Media, 3-D Mixed Media, Ceramics, Digital, Drawings/Pastels, Fiber, Glass, Graphics/Printmaking, Jewelry, Metalworks, Painting, Photography, Sculpture and Wood. For a complete listing of invited artists visit desmoinesartsfestival.org.

In addition, 24 Iowa residents attending universities, colleges, and art schools across the nation were selected by the professional artist jury to feature their art at the Festival in the Emerging Iowa Artists program, sponsored by Principal Financial Group®.

The Festival also features live artist demonstrations, family and children’s arts activities, live entertainment, street theatre, eclectic food booths, Interrobang Film Festival, art from Iowa students in grades K-12 in the Nurturing a Student’s Vision Program and much more!

The mission of the Des Moines Arts Festival, a non-profit organization, is to enrich the quality of life in central Iowa by creating an opportunity for people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds to embrace the arts.

The Des Moines Arts Festival is presented by The Des Moines Register, founded by the Des Moines Art Center and produced by Downtown Events Group. The Festival is sponsored by Prairie Meadows, Principal Financial Group®, Bank of the West, Des Moines Radio Group, GuideOne Insurance, Iowa Public Radio, U.S. Cellular and WHO-TV 13. For more information on the Des Moines Arts Festival visit desmoinesartsfestival.org.

First published in 1994, AmericanStyle magazine is the national arts lifestyle magazine for enthusiasts, collectors and travelers. Published bimonthly, AmericanStyle can be found online at americanstyle.com and on newsstands nationwide. Featuring articles on contemporary artists, collectors, arts travel and art events, AmericanStyle’s annual Top 25 Arts Destinations readers’ poll has earned the magazine national recognition for being the premier arts travel resource.