3/24/2008 - Fountain City set for 3rd Annual Art Festival
Fountain City Set for 3rd Annual Art Festival
On Saturday, March 29th, if you are anywhere near Pratt Park, you'll hear music dancing on the breeze and the laughter of children; you'll catch the faint scents of oil paints, and you'll almost swear that you can taste funnel cakes! These invasions of the senses can only mean one thing - The Fountain City Arts Festival is here.
Billed as the family-fun day where Art Springs to Life, this event offers a great day of dance, music, and lots and lots of art. The festival goes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with free admission for the whole family. Live demonstrations will be featured throughout the day including blacksmithing, painting, basket weaving, wood carving, and music.
There will even be a live Didgeridoo demonstration. A didgeridoo, in case you aren't up on your Down Under, is a wind instrument of the Indigenous Australians of northern Australia. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet and can measure anywhere 3 to 10 feet in length. There are no reliable sources stating the didgeridoo's exact age, though it is commonly claimed to be the world's oldest wind instrument. It is reported that the Aboriginal people have been using the didgeridoo for about 1500 years, based on the dating of paintings on cave walls and shelters from this period. Along with a live demonstration of the instrument, the group out of Tampa, Florida known as Didgeridoo Down Under, will also exhibit Australian art.
Nashville ventriloquist, Ken Karter, will perform two live shows and will talk to festival visitors throughout the day. He has been a featured entertainer for Princess Cruises Lines, the Sahara Hotel, Americana Resort in Aruba, Harrah's, Las Vegas & Lake Tahoe the Magic Casino in Biloxi.
Other musical features include local favorite, Tapestry, a six member band from Montgomery will take the stage at 11:30 a.m. for a two hour set. They play a variety of music that will appeal to festival-goers. Rosewood Strings Quartet, the Prattville Pops, the Prattville Community Chorus, Miss Fountain City - Jaye Herrod and harpist, Sally Jordan, will offer a musical array of classical, big band and Broadway tunes. Cowboy Poet and Trick Roper, Bruce Brennan, will perform at 2:00 p.m. and local blues artist, John Bull, will take the stage at 2:30 p.m. The A.S.U. Dance Troupe will perform traditional African dances at 3:30 p.m. Rounding out the day's entertainment will be Kenlinkbuss, a Montgomery based Gospel Hip-Hop band.
And with an art festival, comes Art! Almost 50 artists are slated to be at this year's festival. Guests artist this year include Charlie "Tin Man" Lucas, a resident of Autauga County and Selma. This internationally renowned folk artist has been to the festival for the last three years and enjoys working with the children and the kids of all ages to create a piece of art that he donates to the City of Prattville each year.
Wade Oliver, a native Alabama artist, has over a decade of experience in functional pottery. In recent years, Oliver has focused on wood-fired pottery. The very labor intensive wood firing process is becoming a lost art among contemporary potters because of the four to seven days of constant stoking required for each firing. The results, however, are unmatched. Wood fired pots are glazed with the collection of ash and the movement of heat through the kiln, with the results telling a story about each pot's form as well as its place in the potter's kiln. Oliver takes great pride in the originality and functionality of every pot and each piece is created and signed or stamped by the artist himself.
Nancy Raia, of Foley, said her heart went out to Prattville due to the recent tornado. She has traveled around the country and worked with children through art, after Hurricane Katrina and the Northridge Earthquake in California. She said, "I have learned that first children must deal with what they have been through, what they have seen. Allowing them to create pictures of what they experienced lets the emotions out, and allows the healing to begin. We follow up with a fun exercise (such as the hurricane hair, or tousled twister look) and find a way to connect and laugh and realize we are all survivors." However, to participate the children did not have to experience the devastating tornado. "Life brings us storms of all varieties. Once you have ridden through the storm, the answer is to get up, and start over again. Using art to link with our neighbors is what gets us out of the shell, out of our "safe space" and reminds us all that each day is a gift. I hope that with this experience we can bring some healing and have a fun art experiences to boot," she said.
The Children's Creative Canopy will feature Raia, along with Lucas and local potter, Anna Bastida. The art projects are free and sponsored by the Prattauga Art Guild and the City of Prattville. There will also be a children's inflatable area, hosted by Space Walkers of Montgomery. Cost is $10 per child for a wristband good for unlimited play, during festival hours.
From 10 a.m. to Noon, celebrities, J.T. & Leanne, of Mix-103 Radio, will be doing a live remote from the festival and participating in a Celebrity Paint-Off. Art canvases will be painted by Mayor Jim Byard, Jr., J.T. & Leanne and some area media and local celebrities. The canvases will be auctioned off later, with proceeds going to the City's art programs.
Ten food vendors are also gearing up to feed festival visitors and the food offerings are as varied as the art styles: Oriental, Cajun, soul, hot dogs, hamburgers, nachos, shaved ice, pig skins, kettle corn, fresh squeezed lemonade, gourmet coffee and of course, those famous funnel cakes!
To round out the day of the arts, there will be a free outdoor showing of the movie, Night At The Museum, at the Pratt Park Amphitheatre at 7:15 p.m. The movie, featuring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, will be shown on a 30 ft. screen. Movie-goers are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs and blankets. No alcoholic beverages will be allowed. Food vendors will be on site.
The Festival is sponsored by: The City of Prattville, Target Corporation, Prattville Baptist Hospital, Larry Puckett Chevrolet, Cohen's Electronics, Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, Inc., WSFA, Cumulus Broadcasting, the Prattville Council for the Creative & Performing Arts and the Prattauga Art Guild.
For more information about the festival, its artists for an entertainment schedule, visit www.prattville.com. Click on Cultural Arts/Special Events and look for the Fountain City Arts Festival page or call 358-0297.
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