ANDOVER — Local artists are preparing for their second annual Andover Area Art Show on July 31 and Aug. 1, and hoping for another strong turnout.

Resident Wendy Hutchins said the show will be held in conjunction with the Andover Olde Home Days celebration. The show will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 31, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1.

Hutchins said that the turnout for last year’s art show was “fabulous and unbelievable.”

“More than anything, we got a lot of people interested in the show,” Hutchins said. “We had 108 pieces of art created by 28 different artists last year, and we’re hoping for a similar turnout this year.”

Last year, the art show was held at the home of Tom and Maggie McGuire on 71 Maple St. The building was up for sale during the show, but was on loan to Hutchins and the other Andover artists responsible for organizing the show.

“This year, Susan Merrow and Kevin Scott have allowed us to use the old telephone office building downtown,” Hutchins said. “It used to be known as Addie’s Restaurant, and unlike the previous house we used, it’s right at the center of everything for the Olde Home Days celebration, not off the beaten path.”

One unique piece of art is a painting of a church from the 1950s. Hutchins said that no one has been able to figure out who is responsible for painting it.

“We thought we knew who the painter was, but we discovered that the woman who supposedly painted it would have been in a nursing home at the time that the painting was made,” Hutchins said. “Right now, it’s a mystery. We got permission to display the painting again this year. We even had a benefactor step forward to pay for the costs of keeping it preserved.”

In addition to regular paintings and drawings, Hutchins said that there will be wood burnings and paintings done on glass surfaces on display.

“Our goal is to have a wide variety of art on display, as long as they are original works by Andover area artists, living or deceased, or art that represents life in Andover and the surrounding area,” she said.

The art show will be closed from noon to 1 p.m. Aug. 1 for the Olde Home Day parade.

Bethel author Bob Remington will be at the art show both days to sign copies of his Maine ski-jumping book, “We Jumped,” which he co-wrote with his brother Thomas.

For more information or to register art for the show, call Pam Berry at 392-1052, Denise Hurd at 392-2981, or Hutchins at 392-2211.

Local artists interested in having their work displayed can drop off their work at the venue from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, July 26, or from 8 a.m. to noon Monday, July 27. Hutchins said interested artists should call her, Berry or Hurd before dropping off their art.

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net