TroyFest 2025 a success; Drinkard steps down as director
Published 8:18 pm Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Jean Lake Folk Art winner Billy Moore.
Corley Chapman Fine Arts winner Dawn Prietz.
Jewelry Merit Award winner Paige Hughes.
Photography Merit Award winner Chris Price.
Sculpture Merit Award winner Richard Beech.
Pottery Merit Award winner Tony Mitchell.
Best of Show winner Michelle Gao.
Freshman Exhibitor Award winner Brent Gibbs.
Decorative Traditional Craft Merit Award winner Rex Thrash.
Graphics and Drawing Merit Award Winner Shanlie Withington.
Painting Merit Award winner Amanda Lee.
First Place Craft winner Richard Atkins.
TroyFests 2025 brought artists and craftspeople from across the Southeast and nation to Troy for a two-day art show.
To a one, the comments of those who attended the 2025 TroyFest Fine Arts and Crafts Show over the weekend were that TroyFest Committee was the friendliest and most helpful off all the arts festivals they had attended.
The 2025 TroyFest was, as always, highly attended both on Saturday and Sunday and was near or past the number of past arts festivals, 10,000.
Those who came especially to for the arts and crafts show were not disappointed. The vendors were pleased with the number of people in attendance and the quality of the arts and crafts.
“TroyFest is always a great arts and crafts show,” was heard time after time.
For Rob Drinkard, who has led the volunteer effort to produce the festival for nearly 15 years, the show was a successful end to his tenure.
For nearly 15 years, Drinkard has served the TroyFest Art & Craft Festival as the chairman. During this time, he has helped the festival continue to grow and held strongly on to the ties of the history of the festival celebrating Jean Lake.
Submitted Photo
Rob Drinkard and Renee Dickerson, Treasurer at the 2024 Artist Award Party. Dickerson is also serving her last year as treasurer before her replacement Jade Blocker takes over in 2026.
“I’ve enjoyed serving my community in this way. I believe in this festival and its focus on the arts and artists. The environment for artists traveling the festival circuit has changed over the past decade, and it’s been our goal to try to provide a supportive environment for artists to sell their work,” Drinkard said.
“I had the privilege of coming on board with the festival after some great people built a strong foundation and reputation for the festival. When I took over after Stephanie Baker, I knew I had some big shoes to fill. She, along with Kristy Drinkwater and so many more, worked really hard to make TroyFest a name recognizable festival among artists in the Southeast and beyond.”
Drinkard acknowledged the value of the support from the city of Troy and their efforts to make every detail count. “Being able to count on the mayor and his team to help us with every logistical detail and hospitality aspect continues to be a pivotal part of the success of the festival each year.”
TroyFest has been a big part of Drinkard’s personal life. “I’ve been working on TroyFest for longer than I’ve been married. My wife, Morgan, serves as co-chair and publicity chair and we’ve had two children during this time. Our children love TroyFest and have enjoyed growing up in a community where we can have this type of event.”
Drinkard says it would be hard recall names of all the people who have contributed to the festival’s success, because the list could go on and would probably include hundreds of people. “The businesses who continue to support the festival, the committee members who volunteer their time, the artists who continue to exhibit, and the community who continue to come out and buy from the artists all help the festival going each year, and I’m excited to see it continue.”
