ORLANDO, Fla. – Epcot’s International Festival of the Arts has grown into one of the park’s best events.
Many guests focused on the creative food booths are overlooking a couple of creative experiences that let you walk away with custom mementos.
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The first features the talents of a Central Florida company. Near the Canada showcase, Enemy Ink has set up a “print-on-demand” silk-screened shirt shop on the waterfront. Founder and Co-Owner Brad Palkevich showed me how it works.
He has set up what looks like a carousel of stencils placed face down. Pick your type and color of shirt, hoodie, or flannel and your preferred design.
Then the silk-screen artist will adjust the stencils and turn your “blank canvas” into wearable art. For me, he started with a tie-dye shirt and started scraping.
Pretty quickly I could see the multi-colored festival logo and some colorful splotches he created come into view.
Brad let those colors dry for a moment while he loaded up a different stencil with extra black silk-screening "ink" for the biggest addition of all. Of course, I went with Figment.
Brad is a former cast member. He and his partner started “Enemy Ink” years ago by printing shirts for local bands. Now they employ a couple of dozen people, handling all kinds of silk-screening orders from around the nation. All are printed by hand one color at a time in Central Florida. Most of the stencils are designed by Central Florida artists.
Prices run from $29.99 for a t-shirt to $79.99 for flannel. Brad’s team will be glad to help you pick out the right combination of design and colors if you have questions.
If you’d prefer hanging art instead of wearing art, keep walking halfway around World Showcase to the “Spin Art Experience” booth near Japan.
Starting with a blank canvas, you can select up to four colors, squirting them one at a time, with some pedal power between each addition.
If the walking isn't enough exercise, you can even pedal the bike -- or a trained artisan will do it for you.
The result, a true one-of-a-kind canvas, and the colorful finished project just need a few minutes to dry before you can head off to the next snack kiosk, concert or demonstration.
The "Spin Art Experience" starts at $19; $25 with frame. The booth next door features pre-made works to look at or purchase.
Epcot’s 2020 edition of the Festival of the Arts runs through Feb. 24th.