Art in the High Desert will move back to Bend and the banks of the Deschutes River in 2024, albeit slightly upriver from its longtime home in the Old Mill District.

Central Oregon’s premier juried fine art and craft show, Art in the High Desert returned to life in August, popping up at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center in Redmond rather than its longtime home on the Deschutes River bank in the Old Mill District of Bend.

It was the first time the show and sale had been held since 2019, the three-year absence stoked by the stepping down of founders Dave and Carla Fox and, of course, the COVID-19 shutdown.

According to Carla Fox, the fairgrounds made for a great location but sales were mixed.

“The artists, some of them had really good shows, myself included, and some of them had less-than-stellar shows,” said Carla Fox, a metalsmith and jewelry maker.

Because AHD’s organizers don’t monitor foot traffic, there is not an exact headcount of attendance this year, but anecdotally, Fox said, “it seemed like we had lots of people.”

Still, all seemed to miss the foot traffic engendered by being along the river path in the bustling shopping district.

A month after this year’s event, director of one year David Bjurstrom stepped down from his leadership role.

“He got the show going again when nobody else would, and he did a brilliant job of that,” Fox said.

Artist and board member Darryl Cox, who tracked down the new location, which will be on the giant lawn at Riverbend Park, located on the west bank of the Deschutes, directly across Columbia Street from the show’s former home. The larger footprint will enable AHD to host about 150 artists. This year’s show had around 140, Fox said.

For now, Cox, the Foxes and other board members are taking on the tasks normally handled by the director leading up to next year’s show, which will be held Aug. 23-25. For more information, visit artinthehighdesert.com.