Where can you go in Des Moines this summer to see various forms of art and entertainment absolutely free?

Look no further than along the riverside in downtown Des Moines. For one exciting weekend this summer, the streets of Des Moines will be transformed into a paradise for art and entertainment lovers young and old.

“The art festival is ranked 10th among the fine arts festivals in the country,” says Amy Kearns, public relations director for the Des Moines Art Festival.

This summer the event is planned to start June 29th and end July 1st, and is promised to be the best.

“It’s going to be bigger and better than ever,” says Kearns.

This year’s festival will showcase the creative works of art from 150 artists representing 33 states, as well as art from overseas. Twenty-two of the 150 artists displaying artwork are from Iowa.

Fourteen different art categories, including sculpture, wood, ceramics, pastels and drawings, fiber, glass, metalwork, photography and jewelry, will be featured and select works will be available for purchase .

The more than 150 artists and dealers will be eligible to win prizes totaling up to $10,000 for “Best of Show” and “Best of Category.”

“The Des Moines Art Festival is an uncommon representation of diversity of art for the Des Moines area,” says Sara Williams, who has attended the festival every year since its start, and is a young artist herself.

“Compared to other art festivals, the Des Moines Art Festival brings a broad range of art and its culture to Des Moines,” adds Williams.

Along with the many types of art being displayed, the festival will offer many different interactive activities to enjoy.

Festival attendees can participate in painting a downtown bus, designing an ad, decorating a dumpster, and creating pictures on the sidewalks of the festival streets.

This year the festival will also including a sculpture garden. The sculpture garden will feature artwork from festival artists, according to festival officials.

Another new attraction is Principle Park, which is an on-site park located on the Walnut Street bridge.

The park offers fountains and park benches in the middle of gardens, creating a scenic place for patrons to rest.

Not only will the festival show the works of artists from all around the world, but it will also have educational presentations, shows and contests.

For the first time, the Des Moines Art Center will present four 30-minute seminars. The program series, “Embrace Art Collecting,” will feature courses on how to collect art for children and adults. Participants can learn to find their inner collector, go to an auction school, and admire art prints.

The festival is also a main source of live entertainment this year, with over 50 hours of dancers, symbolic ensembles, clowns, mascots and live music on three main entertainment stages, according to festival officials.

The music lined up for this year starts Friday evening and goes through Sunday night.

Some of the entertainers slotted to play include Iowa City’s Brother Trucker, The Des Moines Metro Opera, The Black Forty, Paul Minich’s World Port, The Nadas and The Des Moines Playhouse.

Local radio stations KISS 107 FM and MIX 100.3 FM will be hosting bridge parties both Friday and Saturday nights.

Entertainment won’t just be restricted to the festival stages. “Les Statues Vivante,” or “Living Statues,” are human actors dressed like Greek sculptures.

These human statues look like normal statues and draw attention from people walking by. The statues patiently wait for the right moment to suddenly come to life and interact with the crowd.

Along with live music, hundreds of art displays and living statues, there will be plenty of food, from pizza to Chinese to barbecue, to satisfy the hungry appetites of festival-goers, as well as free parking and shuttle services.