Salem's 77th Art Fair & Festival is drawing crowds to Bush's Pasture Park through Sunday, Sept. 13, but organizers say attendance still hasn't fully recovered from a post-pandemic slump.

The three-day fair, which opened Friday, Sept. 11, attracts about 20,000 visitors each year. That figure sits at roughly 80% of pre-pandemic levels, Salem Reporter's Hailey Cook reported on the eve of the fair. Organizers attributed the dip to lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and to changes in the fair's schedule.

The schedule shift is the most visible change. As recently as 2023, the fair ran in late July. Organizers moved it to September, citing cooler temperatures as a draw, according to the Salem Art Association's FAQ page. The 74th fair took place July 21-23, 2023.

Matthew Boulay, an organizer for the Salem Art Fair & Festival, told Salem Reporter ahead of the fair's opening that the event requires a full year of preparation. "We spent a year preparing for this, and there's just a thousand details and thousands of people involved, and it's a ton of work," Boulay said.

The gap hasn't dampened the lineup. More than 200 juried fine artists from across the country are showing work at Bush's Pasture Park, according to the Salem Art Association, alongside three days of live music, artisan demonstrations and food carts.

Artist Eric Tautkus is creating an 8-by-12-foot floral mural with spray paint, live on the fairgrounds through Sunday.

Salem is well represented among exhibitors. Fourteen artists in the fair's online directory list Salem as home, including Samuel Hoskins, who won Best 2D Painting at the 2024 fair, and Leah Borden, an emerging artist working in watercolor and digital media.

The community vote-selected T-shirt design, "Visitors Welcome," was created by Shoki and Sara Tanabe. Cheryl Brown is the 2026 poster artist. Salem neighborhood associations are also tabling at the fair, according to Salem Reporter's neighborhood news roundup.

The fair's final day, Sunday, Sept. 13, runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bush's Pasture Park, 890 Mission St. SE. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and veterans, $5 for teens and free for children 12 and younger. OHP and SNAP cardholders also get in free.