The arrival of the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival is always a cause for celebration — I mean, come on, all that great art! But it also signals that we’re already into mid-August, so we’ve got to enjoy summer as it’s waning.

Let’s dwell on the positive. The festival has become a huge draw over the decades (and we do mean decades — more than six, in fact) for good reason. Sure, Mystic is an attraction in and of itself, but the paintings and sculpture and photographs and jewelry and on and on … it’s top-shelf stuff, all selected for inclusion via a juried process. Visitors can peruse the work of more than 200 artists from near and far.

The fest will feature a Children’s Art Park in Mystic Shipyard. And for the second year, it will offer a Performing Arts Stage on the Gallery Quad at the north entrance to the Mystic Seaport Museum. The performances, which will include music, dance and theater, will run from 6:30 to about 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Admission is free. People should bring their own chairs or blankets.

The Mystic Outdoor Art Festival is organized by the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce.

— Kristina Dorsey

Mystic Outdoor Art Festival, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. and 10 a.m-5 p.m. Sun., Mystic Shipyard and along Bay, Holmes and Cottrell streets, Mystic; free admission; mysticchamber.org/art-festival/.