In September 1958, a small group of Bartow artists gathered to work and paint under the tutelage of Henry de Rues. This group founded the Bartow Art Guild in 1959 as a non-profit organization with the purpose of development and exposure of visual and cultural art in the City of Bartow and its environs.

Bartow Art Guild is a non profit organization of artisans from Bartow, Florida and surrounding areas of Central Florida. Guild membership is open to artists and supporters of the arts. The guild has open meetings, including presentations by artists of all mediums. Workshops and classes available year round and several events are scheduled throughout the year.

Bartow's Bloomin' Arts Festival draws some of the Southeast's finest artists to Bartow, as well as thousands of visitors every Spring. The two-day festival is held down Bartow's historic downtown streets in the shadows of the old historic courthouse. This event offers a wide variety of food, a children's section, adult & student awards, flower show, antique car show, Bloomin' Bike Ride, Bloomin' 5K and kick-off festival party providing an exciting atmosphere visitors find irresistible!

The Downtown Bartow Craft Fair is a 1-day craft fair featuring all types of homemade crafts. Also includes kids' activities, classic car show, antique fair, produce, and plants. Food is by local groups and downtown restaurants. Location is along our newly redesigned Main Street. Admission is FREE and the next craft fair will be November 12, 2011.

The Bartow Performing Arts Series is a volunteer-based program of the Bartow Area Chamber Foundation. Founded in 2007, the series will begin its third season later this year featuring productions ranging from locally-produced to internationally known. From Bluegrass to Mozart, from musical comedy to dance, the Bartow Performing Arts Series brings quality family entertainment to south Polk County. All performances are held at the historic Bartow Academy Auditorium. For more please contcat the Greater Bartow Chamber of Commerce at (863) 533-7125.

The Bartow Adult Concert Band provides a venue for experienced, volunteer musicians to perform in a series of popular community concerts throughout the year.

Many of the band’s 70 musicians have been playing all their lives, and most of them are full-time Polk County residents.

Although the band is made up of adults of all ages, their target audience is the retired population around the county, and band members come from all parts of the county.

Now in its 20th season, the band performs one free concert a month in the Bartow Civic Center between November and April. The civic center is located at 2250 S. Floral Ave.,

Upcoming concert sates are Nov. 6, Dec. 4., Jan. 15, 2012, Feb. 19, 2012 and March 18, 2012 and April 15, 2012.

All concerts are performed on Sunday beginning at 2:30 p.m. Concerts are free.

An exception is the special concert every July 4 that typically fills the 1,000-seat civic center.

The band performs a wide variety of music, including marches, classics, Latin-influenced pieces, jazz and Broadway show tunes.

Director John DeYoung, a retired Polk County high school band director, organized the band in 1990, patterning it after similar concerts in northern states.

For more information, call (863) 534-0120

A gallery that will provide sales of art from established and up and coming artists to customers in its targeted market. Glenda Santiago-Losh and Marimer Rivera founded the gallery in 2011. Our goal is to provide a friendly, warm and intimate location for potential clients, while also maintaining the integrity of a cutting edge gallery that caters to the diversity of the community. It is our intent to offer assistance and help educate clients that are interested in collecting art while providing a location where local art can be displayed. We will be offering workshops and classes to those who may be interested, as well. An outreach program is being developed that will provide free classes to those who show an interest.

We are dedicated to educating, enriching and engaging the public through art exhibitions of the highest quality and to promoting the visual arts within our community. The Gallery fulfills this mission by exhibiting originally conceived art exhibits on a rotating basis throughout the year. {tay'-cho} is also dedicated to supporting the educational and cultural growth of our community. Expanding on the Gallery’s mission statement, our specific mission is to present exhibitions, related activities (lectures, workshops, demonstrations, and other educational programs, etc.), and publications which represent a wide range of fine art media, cultures, and time periods. All exhibitions and related activities are planned in accordance with the mission statement. Criteria for selecting exhibitions include artistic excellence; diversity of aesthetic traditions and attention to the cultural diversity represented within the community demographics. We believe our clients should expect an extensive choice of high quality original works of art and exceptional service delivered in a professional manner by knowledgeable staff. Furthermore, we believe our clients should expect honesty, integrity and reliability, the cornerstones of an excellent reputation. We work hard to meet these expectations every day, in everything we do; because we care. We care about the fine art community of which we are a part. We care about our artists, guiding, encouraging and motivating them to produce their finest work for our collection. We care about our employees, encouraging them to continually expand and share their knowledge and expertise. We do these things because above all we care about our clients. We want each to be delighted with the entire experience of acquiring fine art from {tay’-cho}. From selection to installation, our aim is to ensure complete satisfaction. That is our guarantee. That is the standard by which we measure ourselves. That is the standard we readily accept being measured against by all others.