MOULTRIE, Ga. – The Colquitt County Arts Center is gearing up to host its second annual ArtFest event on Saturday, Nov. 5.

“It’s a celebration of the arts with live music [and] food vendors, ” Kristen Berry, the marketing director of the Arts Center, said in an interview Friday.

There are a few changes to ArtFest, which was first held in Colquitt County last year.

“This year, we’ve actually added a craft beer festival as well as a music festival,” Berry said.

ArtFest will not have art vendors stationed at the events this year. Instead, CCAC will host a separate event for art vendors later this year.

Berry said ArtFest kicks off with four family-friendly races: the half marathon at 8 a.m., the 10k race at 8:30 a.m., the 5k race at 9 a.m. and the fun run at 9:30 a.m.

The races will be held at the Arts Center and end by 11 a.m.

All potential runners must register and pay the entry fee to participate. Each participant will receive a race T-shirt and be able to utilize the cash bar, private restrooms and exclusive seating at the craft beer and music festival.

All proceeds from the event will fund the CCAC’s programming such as the theater program, art classes, supplies and scholarships.

As a non-profit organization, the CCAC mainly operates from donations and grants, according to Berry.

“[Donations are] a huge bonus,” she said. “What you’re doing is for a really good cause [and] helps put art back in the community. That’s a big portion of who we are as the art center. I feel like the event really speaks to us as who we are, our mission and how we like to move forward with the community.”

The craft beer and music portion of ArtFest will be held at Spence Field and starts at 12:30 p.m.

“We are going to have local breweries in attendance and each ticket, other than the designated driver under 21 ticket, will receive a five-ounce beer mug and eight tasting tickets. They get to walk around the tents and taste different kinds of beer with the tickets,” Berry explained.

Attendees who purchase the $150 VIP tickets will have access to private restrooms and exclusive seating.

For general admission, tickets cost $30 and attendees can only purchase beer and wine at the cash bar.

The deadline to purchase VIP tickets is Friday, Oct. 14, and the general admission ticket will increase to $40 the day of the event. Tickets will not be sold after 9 p.m. at ArtFest.

General admission and designated drivers under 21 attendees are advised to bring chairs. No outside coolers are allowed in the event.

The crowd can also bring their appetites because there will be local food trucks there.

Drivin N Cryin, an Atlanta-based folk rock act, is the headliner for the music festival. Other shows in the music line-up include Grandville, Young Bucks, Flintlock Annie, Evergreen Family Band, Dirty Bird & the Flu and John Pitts. Potential guests can listen to the musicians’ playlist by visiting the CCAC website.

The CCAC is also accepting sponsors for ArtFest.

“We just want to say thank you so much to our sponsors who are already committed and on with us for this year’s event. We’re very appreciative for Colquitt Regional Medical Center for being the title sponsor again this year,” Berry said. “If you would like to be a sponsor, we have various levels with different perks. Each sponsor gets a designated number of [VIP] entries for the race and the festival.”

To learn more about ArtFest, how to become a sponsor or to purchase advance tickets, please refer to the new CCAC website www.artscenterofmoultrie.com or the ArtFest Facebook.