Auburn’s Artrageous art festival took to the street this past Saturday. Main Street that is.

After years of hosting the annual event – which features local artists, hands on arts activities, strolling performers and entertainment – at Les Gove Park, Auburn Parks, Arts and Recreation Art Coordinator Maija McKnight said it was time to change it up.

“At the park, it was a great location, but the festival as we envisioned it, we didn’t want it to just be a kids event and that’s kind of what its become,” McKnight said. “We were seeking ways to grow it into an all ages event.”

Taking advantage of improvements to downtown, such as the Auburn Downtown Plaza, Artrageous teamed up with the Auburn Downtown Association’s Art Walk event, closing Main Street from Auburn Way to A Street for the event.

“We partnered with them to bring that group and a different audience,” McKnight said. “Bringing people in to reintroduce them to our downtown core is a good thing.”

This year’s event featured a beer garden for the adults, as well as two stages of entertainment.

Among the several hands-on activities available was artist Jeff Crandall’s “Two Days of Happiness” art project, which featured 74 corked and empty wine bottles, sandblasted with the word Happiness. During the festival, and the next day at the Auburn Farmer’s Market, individuals were invited to take a bottle home.

“In these dark times, with a bad economy and wars going on and people raging against each other, I wanted to create a project that reminded us to preserve, give and receive happiness,” Crandall said. “And I wanted to create something that the public to get a piece of art.

“My goal is to remind them to share happiness,” he continued. “The Constitution says all men are created equal and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Americans are great at the life and liberty part, but who remembers the pursuit of happiness? So it’s just a reminder that happiness is to be shared and given away and preserved and just be a permanent thing in our lives.”