Locals who want to find some unique works of art to spruce up their homes, or who just want to meet some of the region’s most creative men and women, are encouraged to visit the 2017 Cass Area Artists Summer Art Show this weekend.

The juried art show will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday on the grounds of the Cass County COA Lowe Center, 60525 Decatur Road. Admission to the event is free.

Sixteen artists, hailing from Cass County and beyond, will display and sell their artwork during the event.

Artists participating Saturday are:

• Neil Benham — turned wood

• Jerry Sorn — painting

• Lin Pollard — digital art

• Diana Sterling — hand crafted dolls

• Rosalyn Marcyan — painting

• Tom Rose — painting

• Mary Farrance — painting

• Glen Stoeckinger — photography

• Sue Lowe — ceramics

• Pam Lewis Mattys — jewelry

• Alli Farkas — painting

• Cathy Tapia — ceramics

• Darlene Troyer — jewelry

• Becki Van Cleave — ceramics

• Valerie Johnson — ceramics

• Robert Williams — painting

On top of perusing art pieces and meeting with the artists behind them, visitors will also get a chance to enjoy live music in the morning and afternoon. There will also be a hula hoop demonstration at 2:30 p.m.

Attendees who develop an appetite will be in luck as well, as the Bulldog Bar-BQ food truck will be on site as well.

The event is organized by the Cass Area Artists, a nonprofit organization comprised of artists from around the county, including Dowagiac, Niles, Edwardsburg, Cassopolis, Marcellus and Union, said Tom Rose, director of the group. The group, which now has around 25 active members, was formed in 2012 when a group of local artists began to meet at the Cass County COA to talk about their shared passion for art, Rose said.

“Most thriving communities have groups dedicated to art within them,” Rose said. “We felt like Cass County could benefit from the tourism and benefits from people stopping by to see art.”

The organization’s summer art show has grown by leaps and bounds since its inaugural event in 2015, Rose said. Last year, around 250 people stopped by the show, attracted to not just the quality of the work but by the prices as well, with the average piece costing around $100 or less, much lower than art fans would find at similar events in St. Joseph or other places, Rose said.

The show has been a big hit with artists as well, with around 85 percent returning from last year.

“We have artists that come back year after year,” Rose said. “They have actually developed followings of people who collect their art.”

With plenty of art to see and people to meet, anyone and everyone is invited to check out Saturday’s event, Rose said.

“Come out and check out our artists — and come hungry,” he said.