By LISA HOOVER

CANTON -- The 12th annual Remington Arts Festival continues through Sunday with live music, historic tours, and an art show and sale.

The festival “originally started as somewhat of an economic development initiative to bring a creative festival in a low time of year in Canton, in the fall, and recognized that Frederic Remington’s birthday is October, I think it’s fourth, so they said why don’t we tie it in with the history of Frederic Remington in the North Country and Canton and combine it with modern, local artists,” said Brooke James, a festival organizer.

This year’s festival features a “busking scheme” to replace the single featured musician at past festivals. Busking is an activity more commonly known as street performing, or performing in public for tips.

The festival coordinators hope to feature different musicians throughout the festival and at different locations throughout downtown.

"We want to get as many artists, musicians included, to be a part of the festival. This is one way to do it," said co-coordinator Lenore Vanderzee.

Coordinators hope to expand the busking concept to include circus arts at future festivals.

The St. Lawrence County Arts Council art show and sale will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 as part of the Remington Arts Festival in the Village Green.

Work by more than 20 local artists will be on display, with the artists available to talk with guests. Participating artists are selected through a juried process.

The artists “all have to be members of the St. Lawrence County Arts Council, which does not necessarily mean they are St. Lawrence County artists, but the majority probably are,” said James.

Historic tours of Canton will also be available, according to James. “We do horse drawn historic tours of Canton that trace the life of Remington,” she said. “Tour guides are all Canton school students.”

Canton Central School District students will dress up and give free historic tours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday beginning in the village park.

Nature’s Storehouse will offer free henna tattoos from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Practiced primarily in India, henna tattoos are made from powdered henna leaves mixed with an acidic liquid such as lemon juice. The tattoos are traditionally used during weddings or special Hindu festivals.

The student art competition and exhibit will be Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Canton Free Library, Park Street, at 11:30 a.m. A Reception and awards ceremony will follow at noon.

The competition is open to all students in grades seven to 12.

The festival motto is “Celebrating Arts Excellence in the North Country” and the theme of the competition is “Life In, On, and Around the Grasse River.” Two-dimensional, ready to hang artwork or small three-dimensional pieces will be accepted.

Prizes will be awarded and all entrants will receive a participation certificate.

To register contact Linda Fay at amafay@gmail.com or 386-5228.

TAUNY is hosting a new exhibit featuring the influence of the American West on northern New York at The TAUNY Center. The exhibit, “A Good Ride: Arts and Traditions of the Attica Rodeo,” will explore the aesthetic traditions, talents, stories, and culture of the Attica rodeo community.

The exhibit was inspired by a group of teenage boys in Attica who staged their first rodeo as the Attica and Chaffee Rodeo Club in 1957. Folklorists Karen Canning and Claire Aubrey contributed the research behind the exhibit.

TAUNY will also display “Remington Prints: Stories of the Old West.” Loaned by the Frederic Remington Art Museum, the exhibit shares Remington's art as full-color reproduction prints.

For more sporty guests, the annual Remington 5k fun run/walk will be Sunday, Oct. 6 to wrap up the festival. The route will begin at the Remington gravesite in Evergreen Cemetery and wind through the St. Lawrence University campus, where rumor says he shared his first kiss with his wife Eva.

The route will then head through the village, highlighting the original building of The Plaindealer, started by Remington’s father, Seth Remington.

The race will end at Remington’s birth home on Court Street.

Walkers will begin at 8:45 a.m., followed by runners at 9 a.m.

Registration will begin at 8 a.m. on Route 11, next to Comfort Suites. The first 50 registrants will receive a Remington T-shirt.

The race fee will be $10, including a shirt and refreshments.

“It’s really a mix of art culture and heritage,” James said. “Its evolved a little bit over the years, but we’ve always worked to maintain that mission.”

For a list of art sale artists visit www.slcartscouncil.org.

For more information about the festival, or to register for the 5k, visit www.remingtonartsfestival.org. The website will go mobile this year to allow festival-goers to easily check schedules and locations on location.