Art Basel, step aside. The 9th Annual Larchmont Arts Festival is coming to town.

And with it, around 70 artists from all over the tri-state area. They will all be bringing their work to Larchmont's Constitution Park on Saturday, Oct. 2, starting at 1 p.m. and until 5 p.m. (If the rain is still with us by then, the festival will be moved to Oct. 3.) There will be a $500 award, artist demonstrations, live music by the band Twist of Fate, activities for kids, refreshments and more.

The initiative began nine years ago, when Trustee Marlene Kolbert asked residents Palmer Davis and Caren Osten to come up with a way to bring the arts to Larchmont in a creative way, recalls Davis. Osten, a writer, and Davis, a photographer, concocted the arts festival as a result.

"We were pulling teeth for people to come," recalls Davis. "Every year we grow a little bigger." Today, the event "runs on its own steam, it has a lot of momentum."

This year, there's a few additions to the program. Gallery owner Kenise Barnes will be giving out a $500 art award to one of the festival's participating fine art exhibitors. Barnes participation in last year's festival prompted her to do so.

"I was so pleasantly surprised by the quality of the festival," said Barnes in a statement about the event. The award is "meant to encourage more young emerging artists whose work hasn't been seen, and to give financial support in a small way to allow artists to purchase materials in order to facilitate the making of new work."

Rachel Kohn, a Mamaroneck High School graduate who participated in the festival last year, is now an affiliated artist at Kenise Barnes Fine Art.

Having Kenise Barnes give the big check to the chosen one is a "big deal," says Davis. "We feel like we are being recognized by a very high profile, prestigious gallery owner who's collaborating with us to offer this award."

The winner of the Kenise Barnes Fine Arts Award will be announced by Barnes herself and Larchmont Mayor Josh Mandell in the first hour of the program. There will also be demonstrations during which three artists will speak about the process of making art.

"We realized that in addition to being an opportunity for artists to exhibit and sell their work, this was also an opportunity for art education for the community," said Davis. Visitors will have first hand experience meeting the artists and seeing why and how they do what they do. "Once doesn't always have that opportunity. Artists are hidden away in their studios a lot of the times," he added. 

Patty Horing, whose portrait of a local plumber was chosen to hang on the walls of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., will be talking about the process of making portraits and establishing a rapport with her subject. Wendy Popp, an illustrator who teaches at Parsons School of Design, and Kimberlin Brown, a jeweler whose work is part of The Museum of Art and Design's collection, will also give demonstrations. Brown will explain her technique of casting from leaves.

To collectors, Davis says they should bring their checkbook as the "caliber keeps getting better and better" and the prices remain affordable. Kids should just bring their imagination with them (and maybe a dollar or two—entrance is free, refreshments are not) as there will be art-making events.

Editor's Note: Just like everything else in life, this festival has a Facebook page. Check it out to get a gilmpse of some of the action taking place at past events.