Mike Lyons, owner of Lyons Share in Downtown Fairhope, made a little game for us to play during this past weekend’s  Arts and Crafts Festival.
The popular art gallery and frame shop kept their swing full of happy festival goers. The weather was 98% perfect for this year’s festival which was a huge success.
I don’t have many photos of the actual art, because the artists have become a little touchy about photos of their work. They all thanked me for asking permission first (I was raised right), but many of them still declined. Finally, I just put the camera away. Being original and having others copy your work was a recent topic among a group of artist friends. They said it’s a tricky cross between protecting your ideas and promoting your work. Even in blogging, I hate having to take the time to watermark my photos, but you wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve found them in other places. Okay . . . that was a little side note. What do you think?
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But back to the festival . . .
Restaurants were happily busy. Overheard . . .
Donna Faye: “With all this walking, I feel so healthy, so I’ll just have a chicken salad and iced tea.”
Vonda Mae: “Good idea. Then we’ll share a Red Velvet Funnel Cake for dessert.”
Donna Faye: “And Alligator on a Stick. Don’t forget that.”
Vonda Mae: “We’ll take the Kettle Corn and Pork Rinds with us for the ride home.”
The Eastern Shore Art Center was promoting their upcoming fundraiser, “Puttin’ on the Gritz” which will be a “Celebration of all Things Southern.”  Very exciting, because costumes are encouraged. My kind of party! If you are local and need tickets, let me know and I’ll fix you up!
The gorgeous Dogwood Trail Maids were the hostesses for the day. The Arts and Crafts Festival is always the first appearance for the new group of girls and the last appearance for the old court. They are preparing to attend the Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington D.C. in a few weeks.
The families of the girls wear coordinating colors of their Trail Maid. This was the “blue” family that looked adorable. It’s always a beautiful sight to see the fluffy colors floating down the streets. When my son was little, he loved talking to these girls – and now, at 15 years old, he still likes it. Very much.
And look who I got to meet! Betty Sims and Sister Schubert were autographing their new cookbook, Celebrations from the Heart, which I will tell you more about later. It’s absolutely beautiful and the cover art was done by local and internationally known artist, Nall.
The end of the Fairhope Arts and Crafts festival always signals the time we cut off the lights in the downtown trees (that would translate to “turn off” for you out of area folks – I’m bilingual). Sometimes I wish they would stay up all year long, but it’s so exciting when they turn them on every November. The lights accompany a season of festivals, parades and parties, but now it’s time to take a break and prepare for the hot summer months.
The artists have packed up and left town, the downtown lights are off, and when I returned home I found Lois Lane frolicking in the wisteria. Spring has officially sprung.
Your take on the weekend makes for a happy ending. Thanks for the smiles.
And now on to the new week and more fun! Thanks, Patsy!
I understand artists being protective of their work and yes it is a thin line doing this and promoting. Blogging, oh yes, I’ve found my photos on sites I didn’t authorize.
I love the pretty “frocks” and the girls look like they are in an Easter Parade. Love it!
Happy Monday…………..
Even though I’ve seen the Dogwood Trail Maids a million times, I never get tired of seeing them.
And as for the photos . . . !!!!!!
Oh, that Mike! He has too much time on his hands! ; ) His Bingo is hiilarious and so, “Mike!” Love it!
I think he has hardly any extra time at all. Mike is one busy, and very creative man! You must know him well!
People in shorts is a beautiful sight…especially for those of us in the northern states. Looks like fun.
Yes, the weather here is beautiful this time of year, but check back in with me in August. We’ll be glad to trade places with you then.
There was an artist in the first tent on the corner of Oak and N Bancroft that had whimsical prints of dogs and cats. One of them was of a beagle and it said “The beagle rules this house.” I thought of you and wondered if you saw it. Unfortunately, many patrons didn’t make it as far down as Oak St. My favorite artist was the guy who made guitars out of a lunch box, a tambourine and the Millennium Falcon. And they worked! After seeing everything, we had an ice cream cone at Gene’s Beans. 🙂
I saw the dog themed tent. It had such a crowd around it, I could only peer in from the side! I figured there was a beagle in there somewhere! I also saw people carrying the “rustic” guitars around, but never found the booth where the artist was. They reminded me of the cigar box guitar my grandmother made for my cousin. Chris’ booth also had a crowd when I saw it. Hope everything went well.
Wait! What?!! Red velvet funnel cake? Oh my!
The Arts and Crafts Festival sounds like such a fun event. I used to keep the books for our local Art League and saw firsthand how much work goes into even a small art festival. I can’t imagine the levels of coordination required to pull off the Fairhope event!
You are right about the work load. It’s totally volunteer driven. There are even local families who “adopt” an artist and let them stay with them for the weekend. It’s all so organized. I still don’t see how it’s done.
So glad I saw you today because somehow I totally missed this post.
That Mike Lyons, gotta luv him and his crazy bingo.
Great article on the festival, my favorite event all year! Had to laugh at the names you chose for your “visitors.” I went to high school with a set of twins, Wanda Faye and Vonda Kaye.
Peace,
Debbe@FlowerChild Designs
Speaking of names, ignore the fact that I misspelled my name, my keyboard on my laptop sticks. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Get out of here!!! I love those names!
That bingo card cracks me up beyond all belief. I’ve definitely seen each and every one one of those items at one time or another at Arts & Crafts. Alas I didn’t make it down there this year as other things just kept coming up. Thanks for sharing some of it with us though!
Everyone was saying the Festival wasn’t the same without you!