This June 1, Hawk Mountain will become more than a wildlife sanctuary and an international conservation training site.

As the nucleus of the Hawk Mountain Arts Tour and Sale, it becomes a magnet for art and nature lovers as well.

The event takes place every year on the first Saturday in June.

Art lovers may appreciate and purchase original works at one of the fifteen stops along the 25-mile self-guided tour through Albany Township that includes artists’ homes or studios and other sites displaying their work.

Paintings, metal sculpture, photography, pottery, basketry, iron works, woodwork and more will be on display.

“The show brings art to the surface,” landscape artist Gene Allen said, whose studio is the 11th stop on the tour. “People can spend the day viewing and talking about art.”

Hawk Mountain Visitor Center is the first stop. Featured there will be the works of Todd Gladfelter, a blacksmith artist and chain saw carver, Elaine Briner and her painted glass bottles, and natural products from Hope Hill Lavender Farm.

Many other artists are included in this event.

“Willie Singleton uses creek mud, bamboo and other natural items in his pottery,” Allen said, who explained that neighbors often keep his kiln fired throughout the night.

Singleton’s studio is on Hawk Mountain Road and is stop No. 3. Wanamaker’s Store is stop No. 6 on the tour.

“One of the things I’m very passionate about is supporting local businesses,” the shop’s proprietor Kyra Hendricks said. “We do sell a lot of consignment things made by local artists, so it seems like [the show] is a natural extension.

“I think it’s good to get people out to this area,” Allen said. “They can visit Hawk Mountain and eat at the Kempton Hotel.”

Pastel artist Jeanne Stock is excited about the show.

Stock recently won first prize in the Bethlehem Palette Club show for a work called Afternoon Apple.

“It was an all member show, so we could each put one work in,” Stock said. “I felt honored. I did it for last year’s Hawk Mountain show.”

Stock and Allen will be combining forces, showing their work at Allen’s studio, on Golden Key Road.

“The commute is super,” joked Allen, whose studio is just steps from his home. “The fact that it’s in a barn is really super.”

“People thought it was a great spot last year,” he said, on a more serious note. “Many of them don’t know this area.”

Allen is having an opening reception at 6 p.m. on May 31 at his studio. All are invited to attend.

“You have so many opportunities to see art studios on the tour,” Stock said. “When do you get to do that?”

“It’s a pleasant way to spend the day,” she added. “It’s kind of an adventure.”

The Hawk Mountain Visitor Center is located at 1700 Hawk Mountain Road, Kempton.

For information, visit hawkmountain.org, and download an arts tour map.

The free event will take place 9 a.m.-5 p.m.