There were lots of smiles over the weekend — and dancing in the streets — as the 47th annual Anacortes Arts Festival splashed the town with art and music enjoyed by thousands.

With summer finally here the time was right for another first-rate festival, and organizers certainly delivered. They were smiling as well Monday when the numbers were becoming clear.

Attendance remained solid, putting to rest worries that high gas prices would keep people home.

Hard to figure if attendees were in a “staycation” mode and staying close to home rather than take a longer trip elsewhere, but the festival traditionally draws people from all over Northwest Washington and the Puget Sound region, and the anecdotal evidence seems to suggest plenty of people from Seattle and elsewhere made the trek here — and enjoyed themselves.

More good news came from the booth artists. Their sales were comparable to last year — a relatively good year when consumer confidence was solid instead of sinking.
That bodes well for the future. The artists will want to come back.

And more importantly, the festival, which collects a percentage of the artists’ sales, won’t take a big hit as some had feared in this tough economic climate.

That means the festival should be able to continue its longstanding financial support of the arts in our community at its current generous levels.

Last year the festival returned $30,000 to the community, funding items such as expanded arts programs at the Anacortes Boys and Girls Club, outdoor musical instruments at Storvik Park, audio-visual equipment at the Department of Safety, a children’s musical at Anacortes Community Theatre and the cultural arts series in Anacortes schools.

And the festival itself is a celebration that supports artists and the arts and is a gift to the community as well.

It was exciting to see the surge in attendance at the Art at the Port exhibits, where the youth show, the juried show and the John L. Scott Focus Gallery offered art of all kinds.

Smiles indeed.