Every September, the weekend after Labor Day, Julia Davis Park fills up with white tents, food trucks, live music, and a few hundred thousand people. That is Art in the Park, the Boise Art Museum’s biggest fundraiser and one of the largest arts festivals in the Northwest.

Admission is free over the event’s three-day run, and is a great event for early holiday shopping, serious art shopping, or for anyone who wants a funnel cake or corn dog. Here is everything you need to know before you go, including this year’s dates, the live music lineup, the food, and how to get there without circling for hours for parking.

Art in the Park is a juried outdoor arts and crafts festival hosted by the Boise Art Museum (BAM), located inside Julia Davis Park. Juried means every artist applied with photos of their work and was selected by a panel, so what you see in the booths is original work by the people who made it, not mass-produced imports.

The festival started in the 1950s as a simple clothesline display of art next to the museum. Seventy-plus years later, it draws around 240 artists from across Idaho, the region, and the country, and it is BAM’s single largest source of funding. For many Boise locals, it is the unofficial end of summer. School is back, the mornings are cool, and Art in the Park is one of the last big outdoor events before fall settles in.

Art in the Park always lands on the weekend after Labor Day. This year, it runs Friday, September 11th through Sunday, September 13th, 2026, the festival’s 72nd year.

• Friday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
• Saturday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
• Sunday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Where: Julia Davis Park, 700 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise. The festival takes over most of the park, from the museum and the Rose Garden east toward Zoo Boise and the Gene Harris Bandshell.

Admission: Free.

Three Welcome Centers and a BAM Info Booth are set up around the park with maps, lost and found, and first aid (staffed by Victory EMS). BAM also publishes a downloadable event map and artist list each year, plus a GPS wayfinding map you can pull up on your phone, both linked from the Art in the Park page.

The main event is the artist booths, roughly 240 of them lined up along the park’s paths. You will find ceramics, glass, jewelry, painting, photography, printmaking, fiber and textiles, woodwork, metal sculpture, leather, mixed media, and plenty that does not fit neatly into a category.

Price ranges are wide, from small prints, cards, and jewelry up to large sculptures and original paintings, so you can leave with something at just about any budget. Most artists take cards, but a little cash never hurts for smaller purchases.

The artists themselves are almost always in the booth, so ask questions. Many of them travel the festival circuit all summer, and they are usually happy to talk about how a piece was made.

A few practical notes:

• The 2026 Event Map and Artist List is posted on BAM’s site before the festival if you want to scout specific artists or mediums ahead of time.
• Booths are on packed dirt and grass. It is mostly flat but uneven in spots, so leave the heels at home.
• Friday morning is the quietest window if you want to browse without shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. Saturday afternoon is the busiest.

Food is a big part of the weekend. This year there are 29 food vendors, split between savory and sweet, clustered mostly in the middle of the park near the bandshell.

On the savory side you will find local favorites like Boise Fry Company, A Big Sky Finger Steaks, Meltz Extreme Grilled Cheese, Pita Hut, Darjeeling Momo, Kanak Attack, Mad Mac, Crisp, Idaho Crepe Company, Frybread, She’s Smokin’ BBQ, and the ever-present Pronto Pups (two locations, because lines).

For dessert and drinks: Stella’s Ice Cream, Idaho Ice Cream Potato, Daisy’s Italian Ice and Gelati, Eva’s Famous Ice Cream Bars, Juancho’s Churros, Mini Doh!Nuts!, Idaho Five Star Funnel Cake, Blue Feather Bakery, Idaho Nut Hut, Maui Wowi Hawaiian Smoothies, Eve’s Espresso, and more.

The Sculpture Garden Pub is the beer garden, tucked directly behind the museum in BAM’s Sculpture Garden. It opens at 11 a.m. each day and serves beer, hard seltzer, and wine under umbrellas. It is a nice spot to sit down for a minute between laps. Drinks stay inside the pub area, and no pets are allowed inside.

See the full food vendor list here.

The Gene Harris Bandshell on the east side of the park hosts free performances all weekend. Bring a blanket or grab a spot on the grass. Here is the 2026 lineup:

Friday, September 11

• 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Red Light Challenge
• 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. | Bill Coffey

Saturday, September 12

• 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. | Various Lazy
• 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. | Minor Paradox
• 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. | Niccole Blaze Band

Sunday, September 13

• 1:30 – 2:00 p.m. | The Starbelly Dancers
• 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. | Ballet Idaho Academy Youth Company
• 3:30 – 4:00 p.m. | Idaho Arts Charter School Global Beats

Friday and Saturday evenings are the liveliest, with the music running as the sun goes down. Sunday leans toward dance and youth performances, which is a good fit if you are there with kids.

See the official entertainment schedule here.

If you are bringing kids, head for the big white tent on the north side of the Rose Garden. BAM’s education team runs hands-on projects inspired by the museum’s current exhibitions, this year painting and pastel drawing, and kids get to take their work home.

• Saturday: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
• Sunday: 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The tent is free (donations welcome) and is closed on Friday. Pets are not allowed inside. It is a good midday break when the little ones are done being dragged past pottery.

There is no public parking inside Julia Davis Park during Art in the Park. The lots are closed except for disability permit parking near the Rose Garden and Zoo Boise. Plan on one of these instead:

Free shuttle buses run continuously, roughly every 30 minutes, and drop off on the north side of the park. Shuttles run 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Four routes:

• BoDo Express: 8th St. and Front St., and 11th St. between Myrtle and Front.
• Downtown Loop: 3rd St. between Front and Grove, 11th and Idaho, 16th and Grove, and 14th St. between Shoreline and Spa.
• Boise State / Ann Morrison: Ann Morrison Park softball field lots (southeast corner) and the Brady Garage at Brady St. and University Dr. Heads up: this route does not run on Saturday when there is a Boise State home football game.
• Boise Towne Square: Pick up near the bus shelter north of Dillard’s. Parking at the mall is free.

Discounted parking is offered all weekend at the ParkBOI garage at 11th and Front for $5 a day, and at other downtown ParkBOI garages for $9 on Saturday and Sunday. The Boise State Brady Garage is $5 on Friday and Sunday.

Rideshare and drop-offs should use the small 5th Street cul-de-sac on the south side of Myrtle. Do not stop along Capitol Boulevard.

Bike or walk. The Greenbelt runs right along the park, and there is bike parking at the southeast and southwest corners of the park and next to the Idaho Black History Museum. If you live anywhere near downtown, this is the easiest option by far.

See full parking and shuttle details here.

BAM puts real effort into making the festival accessible.

• Wheelchairs: Ten are available to borrow for free at the Info Booth, first come, first served.
• Paths: Rembrandt Road is a wide paved path running east to west through the park, and a paved footpath runs north to south on the east end. Everything else is packed dirt and grass.
• Accessible parking and drop-off: Disability permit lots are near the Rose Garden and Zoo Boise. You can also drop off at the 5th Street cul-de-sac off Myrtle.
• Restrooms: Accessible restrooms are in the permanent building midway through the park and the picnic pavilion in the southeast corner, plus portable units near the Children’s Art Tent and the bandshell.
• Sensory: Free earplugs are available at the Info Booth and all three Welcome Centers. The east end of the park and the Greenbelt path are the quieter areas.
• Service animals are welcome. Performances at the bandshell do not have ASL interpretation.

See the full accessibility guide here.

• Go early or go Friday. Saturday midday is packed. Friday morning and Sunday morning are the most relaxed times to actually look at art.
• Do a full lap first. Booths loop around the park. We recommend walking the whole thing before buying so you are not carrying a ceramic bowl for three hours.
• Bring a tote bag and some cash. Most artists take cards, but small purchases go faster with cash, and you will want something to carry it all in.
• Bring a water bottle. There is plenty of shade under the park’s big trees, but you will be walking a lot.
• Leave the dog at home if you can. Dogs on leash are technically allowed in the park under city ordinance, but it is hot, crowded, and full of breakable things. Pets are not allowed in the pub or the kids’ tent.
• Stay for the music. The evening sets on Friday and Saturday are a great way to end the day, and the food lines thin out once the sun drops.
• Check the weather. The festival goes on rain or shine, but weather can vary wildly in September.

Learn more about Art in the Park on the Boise Art Museum website.