Art in the Park joins Red Brick Roads this year
By Sherry Lucas
Art in the Park comes under the Red Brick Roads Music & Arts Festival umbrella this year, upping the profile and stretching the outreach of this fun, free event.
The Red Brick Roads Music & Arts Festival moved from August to March on the Clinton calendar, aiming for more pleasant temperatures and a more comfortable experience for festival-goers. The festival is a joint project of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Clinton and the City of Clinton. The festival is Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 27-29, with tickets required for festival grounds entry in Olde Towne Clinton that Friday and Saturday.
Art in the Park, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, at Lions Club Park, provides a free option that should prove an inclusive, welcome draw for young families, seniors and those with an interest in arts and engagement in a more laidback, intimate setting.
“Our mission has always been to offer the public the opportunity to encounter the artists who live in our community, and to be introduced to the types of of art they create,” said Main Street Clinton Events Assistant Jackie Massey. “With the fact that Red Brick Roads is a music and arts festival, there is an automatic connection there.” And, with the festival’s move and expansion with additional activities, the time was ripe to pull Art in the Park into the fold.
The move boosts the presence of the event, potentially reaching a broader audience than a standalone event could hope for.
Around sixteen artists will be demonstrating their creativity at Art in the Park, and some will have artworks available for purchase.
“We have a really great lineup,” Massey said, including artisans they’ve come to know through the Olde Towne markets and prominent, fine arts creators well-known in the community. While the focus is primarily local, “We also have been intentional about reaching out to the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi to contact artists again.”
This year’s lineup includes the return of the Chimneyville Spinners and Weavers Guild; the return of artist Lucia Duque, who recently painted the mural in the Clinton Boulevard District; and the first-time appearance of chemistry professor Dean Parks and his wife Barbara, who make handcrafted jewelry.
“We ask all the artists to be prepared to interact and engage with those who attend the event,” Massey said. “Some will do that with hands-on activities, and others will do demonstrations and engage with conversation.”
Art students from Clinton High will lead the way in a big chalk art activity by designing, demonstrating and helping younger children participate in the fun as they use the street as their canvas.
Hinds Community College instructor Paul Heindl has coordinated with fellow Hinds band directors to bring four different groups to the park’s Atmos stage during Art in the Park, sharing jazz, pop music and beloved standards in a further celebration of community creativity.
Lions Club Park is located in Olde Towne Clinton at 251 East Leake Street.
