Founding & Arts On The Creek Festival
Arts On The Creek was founded in 2008 and hosted the first arts festival in the new City of Johns Creek. Originally a committee of the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce, founder and President Ron Cioffi, Noelle Simon, Treasurer Tina Sadler, Edouard Charles and numerous other community-minded volunteers established a three-day festival at the Chattahoochee Christian Church on Bell Road.
After formally changing the name to AOTC in 2009, the festival moved to the Johns Creek First Methodist Church at Medlock Bridge Road. The first festival drew only a few hundred spectators but soon exploded to an estimated 2,500 in 2009 and added dozens of booth artists. New volunteers who took leadership positions include former President Scott Kallish, Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra Maestro Wayne Baughman, and Georgia Piedmont Youth Orchestra Founders Lyman Louis and Cherie Heringer.
From 2010-12, there was no doubt that AOTC was the city’s most-visited event, attracting more than 20,000 each fall. The festival was hosted on the grounds of Perimeter Church on Medlock Bridge Road. A large children’s area was added and the festival featured two full days of music, dance and theater on a full-size stage. We featured family-themed outdoor movies at night. The most important connection was started that year when we moved our indoor juried art show – which displayed outstanding, high-quality work – into the Johns Creek Arts Center. Instead of a two-day event, the show was displayed for a month at the city’s best-known visual arts institution.
Serving High School Art Students & The Block Party
Since 2013 (excluding 2020), Arts On The Creek has worked with the art teachers and students at Centennial, Chattahoochee, Johns Creek and Northview High Schools. Using tents supplied by the City of Johns Creek, AOTC hangs the work of as many as 50 local students for two days. Most of the artwork is for sale at the festival. Students have sold as many as 10+ paintings, photographs and drawings each year. A 2019 table of Northview student jewelry sold out, starting a trend used by other high schools.
We also introduced The Block Party, that allowed children to build a building block into a larger artwork.
Book Fest
In 2022, we inaugurated Book Fest, hosting 16 area authors who donated funds to display their books and sign autographs. All participating authors will also have up to two books displayed at the AOTC tents at the Johns Creek Arts Festival. Book Fest was the brainchild of Treasurer Kathy Cioffi, who published her first novel Mama Tried earlier in the year.
2025 Johns Creek Literary Fair
Karen White served as the keynote speaker at the 2025 Johns Creek Literary Fair, where she unveiled her brand-new release, “The Lady on Esplanade,” the third novel in the beloved author’s Royal Street series. With nearly 2 million books in print in 15 different languages, she is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 36 novels.
Karen White served as the keynote speaker at the 2025 Johns Creek Literary Fair, where she unveiled her brand-new release, “The Lady on Esplanade,” the third novel in the beloved author’s Royal Street series. With nearly 2 million books in print in 15 different languages, she is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 36 novels.
Former Gov. Nathan Deal details his cat-focused children’s book
Former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal was the JCLF’s special “catnote” speaker, discussing his children’s book, “Veto, the Governor’s Cat.” An on-site pet adoption will add to the festivities.
Writers of the Present, Women of the Past – Historical Fiction Panel
This year’s featured authors will include moderator Kimberly Brock in conversation with novelists Meagan Church, Carolyn Newton Curry and Piper Huguley. The panel of renowned historical fiction authors talked about their speciality of writing historical fiction in a round-table discussion.