Mississippi Roads winds its way down to Harrison County in the town of Biloxi for the fifteenth annual George Ohr Fall Festival of Arts.
http://www.georgeohr.org/
The George Ohr Fall Festival of Arts is a two day event devoted to honoring the great Biloxi potter and to celebrate the creative spirit of the numerous artists of the area. Admission fee for the event is only $2 for adults and it’s free for children less than twelve years of age.
There are more than one hundred juried art booths on site plus there is plenty of live musical entertainment, regional food options and some mighty fun contests for the adults and children alike.
One of the more popular events that takes place on the main stage is the George Ohr mustache competition. There are prizes awarded for the “Most Ohr like”, “most creative” and funniest. And that’s just the kid’s mustache competition.
It’s a great way to celebrate one of Mississippi’s most ingenious potters.
And speaking of celebrating, in our first story we travel over to the river city of Vicksburg to celebrate a major milestone in the theater.
Take a glimpse into the past and peek into the future as the curtains lift on the World’s Longest Running Melodrama. Vicksburg’s “Gold in the Hills” has been playing continuously since 1936 and over the years has become a defining Icon of the city. Cheer for the Hero and Heroine! Boo the villain! Choose for yourself whether to throw a peanut or strike a pose. Discover the Gay 90’s Melodrama, “Gold in the Hills”.
http://www.vicksburg.com/~gold/
Some of the other events that you or your kids can participate in at the festival include: the first ever Clay Ohrlympics, a pinch pot contest and the extremely popular Mad Potter Games; where potter’s compete in a hilarious test of throwing skills in contests like hands free throwing, the best pot thrown blindfolded and tandem throwing.
If you are into more serious displays of artistic work; you will find blacksmith demonstrations here at the festival. In fact, Ohr’s father was actually a blacksmith in downtown Biloxi. There are also glass bead and pottery demonstrations happening all weekend long.
We now go from man-made creations to the untouched waters of the scenic Pascagoula River.
When we say it is untouched by human hands, of course strictly speaking, that’s not accurate. It’s full of boats and fishing lures and people skiing and swimming and a lot of other human activity, including building houses along its banks.
But when we say it’s untouched by human hands, we mean that the Pascagoula is the last river its size in the country that hasn’t been hemmed in by levees at one place or another, if not its whole length; or has had its flow hampered by locks or dams or anything man-made like that. If you want to see how nature runs a river, come take a look at the Pascagoula. It floods and flows unhampered.
The George Ohr Fall Festival of Arts is truly family oriented. The Children’s Art Tent is open for the entire two day run of the festival and it is free for all kids. They will even provide the art supplies and guidance for the little ones. The kid’s can even participate in the “B’Ohr’d” contest where a plywood board, brushes and paints are supplied and creativity is the only thing required or you can design your own tee shirt with an original Ohr theme.
This year’s winner of the official poster competition was Kelsey Moran who just happens to be related to artist Joe Moran of Biloxi and the festival’s namesake George Ohr.
She has some mighty big shoes to fill following these two talented men. Her creative design can be found on the official posters and tee-shirts of the festival.
And speaking of creative design, in our next story we meet a lady down in Bay St. Louis who has developed a home for people on the go.
Julie Martin’s profession used to be restoring old houses. She loved to bring old houses back to life. Her personal goal was to one day own one of the grand old historic houses that dotted Beach Boulevard in Bay St. Louis. She realized that goal just a few years ago when she bought the three story Old Spanish Customs House. For Julie, her life- long dream had finally come true.
That dream ended on August 29th, 2005 when hurricane Katrina came ashore and left nothing but debris and fond memories of her old house. The drastic effects to the landscape were one thing, but, the affect on Julie was another. Katrina had motivated Julie to rebuild in a much smaller way, that’s when she came up with the idea for Martin’s Houses to Go.
Nowadays, Julie lives in an 800square foot house that is 1/8th the size of her former house. She liked the change so much that it motivated her to start her own business. Now, she manufactures the “Gulf Coast Model” of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses. Every cloud has a silver lining and that’s true for Julie too. Katrina brought many bad things but for Julie, it brought a new business and a new way to look at life.
http://tinyhouseblog.com/stick-built/martin-house-to-go/
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