ChathamArts and the Village of Bynum will celebrate local folk artist Clyde Jones at the seventh annual ClydeFest on Saturday.

The festival, featuring hands-on children's arts activities with Jones and others, will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bynum Ball Park off U.S. 15-501 in Bynum, between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro.

Children will be invited to tour Jones' nearby yard, where they can enjoy dozens of the fanciful cedar "Clyde Critters" he crafts with a chainsaw, found objects, a little paint and a lot of imagination. There also will be opportunities for children to paint and decorate wooden animal cut-outs made by Jones to take home as souvenirs.

Other festival entertainment includes puppetry with Paperhand Puppets, games, storytelling, dancing, face painting and refreshments.

As always, Jones will create a Clyde Critter on the spot to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with proceeds to benefit ChathamArts, the county's nonprofits arts council.

ClydeFest is an annual outdoor festival to honor Jones, an award-winning self-taught folk artist who lives in Bynum. His cedar giraffes, deer and other Critters have been exhibited all over the world. Though they are not for sale, he often gives them away to friends and makes them available for charity auctions.

Locally, Clyde Critters can be seen at UNC's student union and Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill, at Captain John's Dockside Seafood restaurant in Cole Park Plaza in north Chatham, at Pittsboro Town Hall, at the Governor's Mansion in Raleigh and in yards all over Bynum.

ChathamArts supports arts in the schools, promotes the work of local artists through a Pittsboro gallery and sponsors a range of arts events and performances throughout the year.

The Village of Bynum is an historic former textile-mill community on the Haw River which has become a haven for artists and a venue for Friday night outdoor music concerts at the Bynum General Store.

ClydeFest co-sponsors include Captain John's Dockside Seafood, Crook's Corner and The BBQ Joint.

Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for ChathamArts members, $2 for children ages 2-12, and free for infants under 2.

For information call (919) 542-0394 or see www.chathamarts.org.