33rd Carmel Art Festival

33rd Carmel Art Festival

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

May 15-17, 2026

The 33rd Annual Carmel Art Festival will be held in Devendorf Park in Carmel-by-the-Sea, and will once again bring together artists and art lovers, visitors, and residents to celebrate Carmel’s artistic heritage and legacy. FREE public event, except GALA and Workshops.

Friday, May 15, 2026 - Artists will bring their newly created paintings to Devendorf Park between 10am & 1pm.

New this year: you can “reserve”/pay for your painting starting at 2pm but you cannot take it home with you until 4:30pm after the Awards Ceremony.

The awards ceremony is 4pm - 4:30pm.

All paintings are sold on a “buy now” basis starting on Friday, May 15.

Judge of the 2026 Carmel Art Festival:

Nathan Lutz, Executive Director, Carmel Bach Festival, is the 2026 Plein Air Judge. “The act of painting en plein air shares a quiet kinship with music. Art whether heard or seen has the power to attune us more deeply to the present moment.” ‍ ‍

Friday May 15th, 2026 from 6pm-9pm in Devendorf Park:

Opening Night Galamingle with the artists, listen to live music, and:

Food provided by Nora’s, winner of the Golden Pine Cone Award and new favorite local restaurant offering chef-crafted dishes, elevated comfort cuisine with a Carmel twist; and:

Wines from various tasting rooms & area vineyards including Folktale Winery & Vineyards, and;

Commemorative wine glass to keep.

EARLY BIRD GALA TICKETS $75

TICKETS AT THE DOOR $100

Saturday, May 16, 2026 - Mission Street next to Devendorf Park

Watch artists paint all around Carmel-by-the-Sea in the morning for the 3-hour Quick Draw. They then bring them to the closed-off Mission Street for judging, auctioning, and sale.

11am - 1pm: display of all the 60 paintings & place your bids until 1pm.

11am - 12Noon: Judging

12Noon: Awards Ceremony

Want to watch them paint between 8am and 11am? The public can get a list where they paint—many of them stay within the commercial district right around Devendorf Park.

Saturday, May 16, 2026 - Devendorf Park

2pm to 4pm - Paint-off & Demonstration. Such fun!!! Come and watch 2 teams of 5 juried artists in action! Each team will paint ONE painting - yes, all 5 will paint on the same canvas!!! 4pm - 4:30pm - Judging and Auction. The painting that has the HIGHEST BID will be the WINNER. Those who participate in the AUCTION will get a piece of CAKE.

Sunday, May 17, 2026 - Devendorf Park

New this year: On Sunday, May 17, artists will be able to sell one studio painting at the festival that they brought from home. It will be so interesting to see what they bring!

About the art that will be sold throughout the weekend:

We will also be selling demonstration and workshop paintings plus other paintings they produced since May 13 that were not placed into the competition. This way, we will have new paintings up each day for the public to view and purchase right until the festival closes at 3 pm on Sunday.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT IN DEVENDORF PARK THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND

Friday, May 15, 2026 :

11am – 2pm - Nick Williams Trio

2pm-4pm – Dan Levitan, Harp player coming in from the Bay area courtesy of the Bach Festival – he will play while Nathan Lutz, Executive Director of the Carmel Bach Festival judges the 120 paintings in the plein air competition.

6pm – 9pm – Rjae HAAS Band of 4 musicians playing everything from Blues and Rock, 60s to 90s music. Playing in Carmel-by-the-Sea for the first time.  www.rjaehaasband.com – they are the live entertainment during the Carmel Art Festival Opening GALA event with Nora’s food and Folktale’s wines.  Tickets $100 at the door.

Saturday, May 16, 2026:

11am – 2pm – Stu Heydon Blues Band

Sunday, May 17, 2026

10am to 10:30am – Sofia Lavering, 15-year old singer/songwriter making her debut as part of the “Youth” program at the Carmel Art Festival. Please come and encourage her.

10:30am to 12Noon – The Dance Center of Carmel’s group of high school students will perform.  www.dancecarmel.com

12Noon to 3pm – Rotary Club Band