Overcast skies and cool temperatures dominated Saturday, but organizers of the Cotton District Arts Festival said the weather did nothing to hamper the festival’s spirit.
“This year has gone really well,” festival committee co-chair Emilie Cravens said Saturday, estimating about 30,000 people attended the event. “We have had a steady crowd all day. People started piling in around 9:30 this morning and it didn’t let up. We were lucky. It looked as if it could rain at any moment, but it didn’t.”
Cravens said festival committee members will take a week off and then have a wrap-up meeting to discuss positive aspects of the 2012 festival. Future festivals also will “more than likely” be held during Super Bulldog Weekend, a popular Mississippi State University event, she noted.
“This is the second year we’ve done this, during Super Bulldog Weekend,” Cravens explained. “I think it’s good for the community. The only thing it really impacts is our volunteers. We both pull from the same volunteer pool.”
The economic impact from the festival extends beyond the vendors on University Drive. Restaurants on the midway, including Bulldog Deli and Zorba’s Greek Tavern, were filled to capacity.
Best in Show winner for 2012 was West Point artist Jeremy Klutts, who won for his hand crafted cigar-box guitars.
“This was my first year to do this,” Klutts said. “There has been a lot of people here today. I haven’t sold many pieces, but I did sell the piece that won the show.”
Klutts said West Point’s Prairie Arts Festival would be the next stop on the festival circuit.
“The Cotton District Arts Festival was only the second show I’ve done,” he said. “The first one I did was the Prairie Arts Festival, last year. I sold nine of the 13 guitars I had. I don’t do a lot of shows. I don’t have a website or anything like that. I just do this as a hobby. I will probably be showing in this festival again next year.”
The Starkville Arts Council sanctioned events included a 10K run, arts and craft vendors, food vendors, activities for children and live entertainment, including bluegrass favorites Nash Street, The Flames and Charlie Worsham.
Penny Freed of Amory said it was worth the drive from Monroe County.
“I had never been to the Cotton District festival before,” Freed said. “I was very impressed. There were a lot of cool things to look at and there were things to keep my two children entertained.”
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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