photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Karen Heuton, of Clive, Iowa, is participating in Art in the Park for the first time this year.

Painter Karen Heuton, of Clive, Iowa, has never sold her work at Art in the Park before, but she said Friday evening that she’s eager to give it a go this weekend.

Heuton, who paints cityscapes and desertscapes and lots of scapes in between, was among dozens of artists setting up tents in Lawrence’s South Park as temperatures hit the mid-90s Friday. Saturday and Sunday are expected to be only marginally cooler, with highs in the low 90s and upper 80s.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Mixed-media sculptor Scott Diven, of Parkville, Missouri, has been participating in Art in the Park for 26 years.

Scott Diven, of Parkville, Missouri, has been displaying his mixed-media sculptures of metal and ceramic for 26 years, while Lawrence painter Celia Smith has been participating in the event almost from its beginning in the mid-1960s. Both got an early jump on setup Friday, while others were just starting to erect their tents around 5 p.m.

Art in the Park, a Lawrence tradition dating back to 1964, draws tens of thousands of people every year, and is the Lawrence Art Guild’s premier fundraising event.

In addition to paintings, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, textiles and more, plenty of food vendors will be on hand, as well as live music.

Saturday’s hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday’s are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Painter Celia Smith and her daughter, Celeste Smith, set up Celia’s tent Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, for Art in the Park, which Celia has been participating in since the mid-1960s.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Sally Brandon, a weaver from Phillipsburg, Kansas, sets up her Art in the Park tent on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. This is her second year at the event.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Artists set up Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, for this this weekend’s Art in the Park.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Dozens of tents were being erected Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, for this weekend’s Art in the Park.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Artists set up their tents Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, for Art in the Park, which takes place this weekend in Lawrence’s South Park.

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Artists set up their tents Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, for Art in the Park, which takes place this weekend in Lawrence’s South Park.