A little boy at a painting station at a previous Art On the Square festival.

Art On the Square Arts League will bring its annual fine arts show to Athens on Saturday, Sept. 8.

Mark your calendars and don’t miss this opportunity to see some things in your own community that will blow your minds; or at least expand them.

Fifty artists will be selected by an outside panel of jury judges to participate in this fine arts show that has earned a reputation for being one of the best shows in the region. The backdrop for the festival is the picturesque downtown with artists taking their places beneath the shade trees on the Limestone County Courthouse grounds.

The all-art, always-free KidsZone attracts hundreds of families to downtown Athens during the festival.

Children can choose from a multitude of hands-on art activities including painting stations, throwing clay on a wheel, mosaics, public collaborative art creation, and more. Art On the Square Arts League is inviting top-notch high school bands, as well as several local and regional musicians to perform in numerous places on the Square that day.

The always popular community drum circle attracts inspired attendees to join them in making this a rhythm nation. Several performance artists will hoop and dance their way around the Square; and local authors will offer unique limited edition books for sale that you can’t find just anywhere.

The Alabama Blues Project Advanced Band is being brought to Athens by AOTS in partnership with Athens State University. The band will perform Sept. 7 at ASU for students from city and county schools, and again during the art festival downtown on Sept. 8.

The Alabama Blues Project is a renowned nonprofit organization based in Tuscaloosa, and teaches music through award-winning-blues programs. The Advanced Band members are its elite students.

Art On the Square works to measurably improve the quality of life for local citizens and children by exposing them to the arts, providing artists a venue for selling their fine creations, bringing cultural events to Athens, and supporting art education.

For more information about the AOTS Summer art camps, artist applications, T-shirt design competition and volunteer opportunities, see the website at http://www.aots-athens.com.