Given the venue, perhaps think of Michael Bowers as a printmaker. Like those craftsmen, Bowers’ 2 Bros Coastal Cuisine turns out a repeating repertoire of six upscale sandwich/wrap creations. Like those artists, Bowers frequently adds something new to the mix, a spur-of-the-moment special based on his mood…and on what is fresh and seasonal at the moment.

Leland-based 2 Bros Coastal Cuisine will be featured as the Sunday food truck at this year’s annual Art in the Arboretum on Oct. 15. Bowers said, “At this early stage, specials for the festival, if any, have yet to be decided, but they will be delicious.”

The festival kicks off with a launch party, preview and raffle for the 600-plus members of Friends of the Arboretum, one of three beneficiaries of the art show and sale, on Friday, Oct. 13, with the actual sale filling up the weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 14-15.

Last year’s show introduced a new zeitgeist to this long-running fixture on the Wilmington arts calendar: tented artists’ booths were spread across the seven-acre gardens, a format that has been renewed and expanded for 2023. This year, according to show director Bradley Carter, there will be nearly 80 booths on the grounds, under the eaves of the main building, in the greenhouse and in the Education Center.

The festival will feature live music and food trucks on both days — Angel’s Tacos on Saturday and 2 Bros Coastal Cuisine on Sunday.

As demonstrated in 2022, the booth approach to showing and selling art seemed to benefit both artists and patrons, and allowed for more variety to be on display. For the show’s beneficiaries — Cooperative Extension Service, Wilmington Arts Association, and Friends of the Arboretum — the new format provided a somewhat enhanced and guaranteed income from the labor-intensive fund-raiser.

The prospectus for the juried show is now available, Carter said. For more information about the juried show and sale, call the Arboretum, (910) 798-7676, or email Carter at bcarter.arboretum@gmail.com.

The Arboretum, 6206 Oleander Drive in Wilmington, is the botanical jewel of southeastern North Carolina, with seven acres of splendor open, for free, to the public. And through its affiliation with North Carolina State University and that university’s Cooperative Extension Service outreach, Arboretum staffers offer a multitude of services, including soil testing and plant disease and pest triage.