Organizers of La Conner’s annual Art’s Alive! festival say the event is both returning to its roots and adding some new elements this year in celebration of its 25th anniversary.

Marci Plank, director of the La Conner Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the event, said the artists and exhibits will be spread throughout the town’s galleries, shops and restaurants instead of being centered mostly in Maple Hall or Maple Center.

“We’ve tried to get the whole town involved and make it so people have that program in their hands and are looking for the next place to go around town,” she said.

Organizers expect more than 2,000 visitors from across the Northwest will brave the chilly weather on Nov. 6-8 to explore the exhibits along Commercial Street.

New to the event is an emerging artist exhibit at both Maple Hall and Gallery Cygnus, which will introduce multiple works from 10 Puget Sound artists.

Along with displays at La Conner’s 20 art galleries, Plank said organizers have gone door-to-door encouraging businesses to hang art on their walls and keep their doors open later for the event.

Greg Robinson, executive director of La Conner’s Museum of Northwest Art and an Art’s Alive! organizer, said the event is an opportunity for visitors to attend dozens of art events in one weekend.

“What the general public doesn’t always know is that Art’s Alive! is really a town live festival. We want to make sure people are able to literally walk through the entire town and experience the music and food,” Robinson said.

Each of La Conner’s three museums will feature unique events over the weekend. The La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum will celebrate its 11th year with three floors of fabric displays in its historic Gaches Mansion location.

And the “Paint Me a River” exhibit featuring 75 multimedia works at the Skagit County Historical Museum until Jan. 3 will coincide with the event.

Art Hupy, creator of La Conner’s Skagit Valley Art Museum — now called the Museum of Northwest Art — first pitched the idea for a La Conner arts festival in 1985 (Hupy died in 2003).

Robinson said a tribute wall at Maple Hall will display historical information about the event’s 25-year history.

The festival’s main components include an invitational art exhibition of 18 well-known regional artists, a local open show featuring artists from La Conner, and merchant exhibitions showcasing various artists in shops throughout town.

The event is free from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. An opening reception at Maple Hall Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. will cost $5.

Want to go?

WHAT: Art’s Alive! 2009, La Conner.

WHEN: Nov. 6-8. 5 to 8 p.m. Friday (reception); 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

WHERE: Reception at Maple Hall, 108 Commercial; tribute to the festival’s 25-year history at Maple Hall; exhibits at the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum; demonstrations and art exhibits in various downtown businesses.

COST: Free except for opening reception ($5).

INFO: http://www.laconnerchamber.com or 360-466-4778.

OTHER EVENTS

ARTIST RECEPTION: With Trisha Hassler, 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum, 730 S. Second St.

Hassler’s work will be on display on the museum’s first floor from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Hassler will demonstrate her techniques from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Admission: free to first-floor exhibits, $5 upper floors. 360-466-4288 or http://www.laconnerquilts.com.

ARTIST DEMONSTRATIONS AND MORE: Friday through Sunday, Skagit County Historical Museum, 501 S. Fourth St., La Conner. See the new “Paint Me a River! Art Meets History” exhibit free of charge from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday.

Artists will demonstrate their techniques and discuss their work Saturday and Sunday. Poet Glen Turner will read from his work at 3 p.m. Saturday. Artist Jack Gunter will present “3-D Experiments in Alternative Spectrums & Phosphorescent Pigments” at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Admission: $4, $3 seniors and ages 6 to 12, $8 families, free for members and children ages 5 and younger. 360-466-3365 or http://www.skagitcounty.net/museum.

MASTER WOODCARVER: Kevin Paul from the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community will demonstrate his art from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday in the Museum of Northwest Art store, 121 S. First St., La Conner. 360-466-4446 or http://www.museumofnwart.org.

• Whitney Pipkin can be reached at 360-416-2112 or at .