More than 350 artists and art lovers packed the Campbell House Galleries on a warm Aug. 6 evening for the ­opening reception and awards ceremony for the 32nd annual Fine Arts Festival presented by the Arts Council of Moore County.

The event was sponsored by Bill Smith Ford-Lincoln-Mercury-Mazda, Pinky Doyle of Re/Max of the Pines, and the attorneys at Robbins, May & Rich.

Sarah Powers, director of the Visual Arts Exchange in Raleigh, judged all 185 entries and awarded first, second, third places and honorable mentions in nine categories, and also selected the “Best in Show” Award. In total, more than $2,500 in cash prizes was awarded.

The 2012 Sara Wilson Hodgkins “Best in Show” Award went to Tim Sayer for his ­photograph, “Bird’s Eye of Myrtle Beach.”

The winners in each category are as follows:

Acrylic

Awarded in memory of Elizabeth Morrison Barron, as a tribute from her family and friends.

1. “River Bend” by David Latham (Laurinburg), 2. “Sidetracked” by Medrith Nuttle (Zebulon), 3. “Opera Diva” by Gerard Catapano (Pinehurst), honorable mention, “River Bank” by Medrith Nuttle (Zebulon), “Rhapsody” by Harry Lane Wurster (Pittsboro).

Drawing/Pastel

1. “Ready” by Susan Newell (Pinehurst), 2. “Male Study from Life No. 1” by Betty DiBartolomeo (Pinehurst), 3. “Melanie Musing” by Sarah M. Fredericks (Aberdeen), honorable mention, “Barnyard Bill” by Elda Hiser (Cary), “After Cy Twombly” by Marie Travisano (Pinehurst).

Mixed Media

1. “A Lovely Brick Wall” by Les Caison III (Asheboro), 2. “Race to Oblivion” by Harry E. Russell III (Pinehurst), 3. “Family Matters: All at Once” by Sandy Stratil (Whispering Pines), honorable mention, “Rain Forest” by Deborah Kline (Pinehurst), “Waiting for Cuba” by Harry Lane Wurster (Pittsboro), “Waiting” by Mary Bryson (Pinehurst), “Family Matters: Swept Away” by Sandy Stratil (Whispering Pines).

Oil

1. “Birds of the Sandhills” by Susan Edquist (Pinehurst), 2. “Winter Series I” by Linda Bruening (Whispering Pines), 3. “Yawning Horse,

Golden Apple” by Leigh Swanson (Southern Pines), honorable mention, “October’s Last Hurrah” by Jeanette Sheehan (Pinehurst), “Wild Poppies” by Doris Smith (Pinehurst), “Afternoon Tea” by Eileen Strickland (Raeford), “Coco and Chanel” by Jane Casnellie (Pinehurst), “Winter Series VI” by Linda Bruening (Whispering Pines).

Digital Art

1. “Mysteria” by Debra Regula (Pinehurst), 2. “Painted Owl” by Barbara Touchette (Lancaster, Va.), 3. “Evening Meadow Trio” by Barbara Touchette (Lancaster, Va.).

Watercolor

1. “Elliot Bridge Rd. – Harnett Co., NC” by A. Jones Rodgers (Fayetteville), 2. “Coral Honeysuckle” by Miriam Sagasti (Chapel Hill), 3. “Boone Fork” by Grace Hill (Pinehurst), honorable mention, “Quiet Life” by Mary Ellen Warren, Pinehurst), “Passing Storm” by Caroline Love (Pinehurst), “Morning Meeting” by Becky Phelps Hildebrand (Lexington, S.C.), “Graves Farm” by Shannon Shreve (Greenfield, Mass.).

Photography

Awarded in memory of Edward Green, longtime volunteer photographer for ACMC.

1. “Bird’s Eye of Myrtle Beach” by Tim Sayer (Southern Pines), 2. “Sea La Vie” by Becca Leen (Southern Pines), 3. “King of Hearts” by Lori Fischler (West End), honorable mention, “Let Me Go” by Michael Stratil (Whispering Pines), “Lando Mill School, Italian Renaissance Revival Design” by Bill Fitzpatrick (Taylor, S.C.), “Cowboys at Play” by Tom Reedy (Pinehurst), “Getting Ready” by Michael Stratil (Whispering Pines).

Print/Printmaking

1. “Returning” by Ines Ritter (Southern Pines), 2. “Sophie Hannon’s Patron Saint to the Garden” by Laurie Deleot (Southern Pines), 3. “Young America” by Laurie Deleot (Southern Pines).

3-Dimensional

1. “Nessie, Red Buttons Down My Back” by Anne Raven Jorgensen (Southern Pines), 2. “Cottonwood Cottage” by Bob Elmore (Pinehurst), 3. “House Wren” by Don McCluskey (Aberdeen), honorable mention, “Vase, metallic triangles” by Anne Raven Jorgensen (So. Pines), “Manufactured Memories” by Molly Dedmond (Southern Pines).

Ballots for the Lee Barrett “People’s Choice” Award are still available, and the winner will be announced after Aug. 20 once all the votes cast throughout the month are counted. This award is named in honor of Cecelie “Lee” Barrett and her 21 years of dedication and ­service to the Arts Council and the Fine Arts Festival.

“If you would like to vote for your favorite, please visit the exhibit at the Campbell House Galleries,” says a spokesman.

In addition to the judges’ awards, local businesses and individuals support the artists in the festival by providing a Purchase Award, which is a pledge to purchase artwork prior to the festival. In addition to having their artwork sold, the artists also receive a ribbon.

The following are the 2012 Purchase Awards:

Anne Raven Jorgensen for “Nessie, Red Buttons Down My Back” (3-D) by Laurie Rich of Laurie Rich Catering; Paula Montgomery for “Floating Pears” (acrylic) by Michael Holden of Holden, Thomasson & Longfellow, P.A.; Margo Matarese for “Tutti Fruitti” (watercolor) by Pinky Doyle of Re/Max of the Pines; Mary Bryson for “Waiting” (mixed media) by Pinky Doyle of Re/Max of the Pines; Courtney Herndon for “Carolina Sunflowers” (oil) by Monica & Rick Zimmerman of ConnectNC.com; Anne Raven Jorgensen for “Vase with Metallic Triangles” (3-D) by Monica & Rick Zimmerman of ConnectNC.com; Molly Dedmond for “Manufactured Memories” (3-D) by Denis McCullough of Denis McCullough Interior Design; and Betty Hendrix for “Ruffled Feathers” (watercolor) by Wendy Beaver of Charles Schwab & Co.

The Fine Arts Festival remains on display at Campbell House Galleries (482 E. Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines) through Aug. 31, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday, Aug. 18, from 2 to 4 p.m.

The gallery is free and open to the public.

For additional information call (910) 692-2787 or visit www.MooreArt.org.