The Cotton District Arts Festival drew over 20,000 visitors and residents from across the southeast to one of Starkville's historic neighborhoods to celebrate a day filled with art, music and delectable street food.
The fest was named one of the top 100 events nationwide by the North American Bus Association, a top 20 event in the region by the Southeast Tourism Society and one of the top five state festivals by Mississippi Magazine.
The busy, all-day event consisted of a 5k run, Family Fun Run, Pet Parade, Pet Trick Competition, Artisans Village, Children's Village, International Village, Writers Village, Juried Art Competition, Taste of Starkville culinary competition and three stages of live music.
One of the fixtures of the festival—Artisans Village—featured the work of over 125 regional and local artists selling a wide range of hand-crafted, original products for attendees.
"The Cotton District Arts Festival has grown quite a bit in the last few years and has become an annual event that the entire community looks forward to," said Artisans Village Coordinator Laurie Burton. "We work hard to bring a unique experience to attendees through art, music, food and all the other activities we offer, we feel it blends perfectly with the uniqueness of the Cotton District."
Artists start applying to participate in the popular event as early as the fall, she said. Artists are granted booth access through a screening process to maintain a level of quality that is "unique, creative and diverse," Burton added.
Art sales for the festival have consistently been over $100,000 for the past three years, according to event organizers.
"Our goal is not only to give attendees a great selection of art and crafts to shop from, but to also provide artists with opportunity to make sales, which gives them incentive to come back year after year," Burton said.
The popular Juried Art Competition showcased works from around 30 artists with just over 53 pieces displayed at the Mississippi State University Visual Arts Center. This year's guest juror, renowned sculptor James Davis, reviewed each piece before the awards ceremony on Saturday.
Best in show received a $750 prize, first place winners took home $500 and second place winners nabbed $250.
Juried Art Competition Winners
-Best in show: Alen Chen
-First place in drawing and painting: Joe MacGown
-First place in mixed media: Robert Long
-First place in photography: Suzanne McClain
-Second place in drawing and painting: Barbara Parish
-Second place in mixed media: Ellen Newsom
-Second place in photography: Jennifer Hudson
First place painting and drawing winner Joe MacGown was excited to take home the top prize.
"I've been it a number of times and had some success," MacGown said. "It makes you feel good about your art."
His winning piece "Board of Aldermen," features surrealist elements overlaid with over 40 layers of colored inks and pen on birch plywood. The piece was started over a year ago, he said.
"We have a lot of really talented artists in Mississippi and here locally," MacGown said. "People need to know about them. Some of the best artists don't always show their work. It's important to let people know what is going on."
TheI International Village featured a variety of cultural displays from the World Neighbors Association stage on Maxwell Street. The shows featured performances representing the Philippines, India, Iran, Pakistan, China, North Korea, South Korea and the U.S.
An international fashion show followed the events and the public was encouraged to participate in the show.
The Writers Village brought writers of all ages and experience levels to showcase writing from wordsmiths from across the region. The writers participated in a poetry contest and the village hosted the Six World Story contest and a social media photo challenge.
The Children's Village featured an "Arts in Action" theme this year, and hosted various activities, art projects and age-specific live music. Kid-friendly activities ranged from easel art drawing, antique trains, thumb printing, scratch art to cookie decorating and an interactive percussion corner.
Aside from the villages, the neighborhood boasted over 16 live musicians mostly from the Golden Triangle area that saw bands from Mississippi blues, rock, gospel to bluegrass and country. Bands rotated hourly.
Bands featured included: Stormy Monday, The Girl Skouts, Deez Notes, The Peddlers, Big Rhonda's Dream Factory, Old Memphis Kings, The Flames, Bill Cooke, Karly Clayton, Brent Varner, Honey Boy and Boots, Cedar Creek Ramblers, Tesheva, Gondoliers, Young Agent Jones, Tuffskinz, Flathead Ford, and Stagolee.
Fest-goers refueled at a wide range of street food stands set up by local and area eateries. Some fare offered ranged from assorted meat kebobs, myriad of pork options, cheese fries to a host of sweet treats that included: StarkVegas sno-cones, homemade ice cream and baked goods.
For the Taste of Starkville competition, 18 local restaurants competed for a range of prizes by cultivating unique festival-specific dishes. Participants created the one-of-a-kind items around quality, portability and dish uniqueness.
"We understand that not every local restaurant is able to be out there—it’s a busy few days with both the CDAF and Super Bulldog Weekend," said Taste of Starkville Co-Chairman Jay Reed. "But the ones who do come out do it with gusto. It’s not just another way to win bragging rights for another year, it also shows the thousands of festival-goers—many of whom are not from here—just what the Starkville culinary scene has to offer."
Taste of Starkville Winners
-Best of overall Taste of Starkville: Central Station Grill (pork tenderloin)
-Best dish: Harveys (chicken and tenderloin kebobs)
-Best from scratch: Aunt Marti's Bakery (Amish peanut butter spread)
-Best service: Harveys
-Best for a sweet tooth: Moo's (fried doughnuts)
-Best drink: 929 Coffee House (Scarlet iced tea)
-Best on a cloudy day: Bulldog Burger Company (philly cheesesteak egg rolls)
-Most festival-friendly: Abners (chicken on a stick)
-Most innovative: Bin 612 (Chicago-style hot dog with tomato, dill sauce and caramelized onions)
Best overall winner Central Station Grill Executive Chef Leon Jefferson took pride in winning the award. The winning dish, pork tenderloin marinated in sweet tea, smoked with a hickory-applewood blend and topped with cream cheese over a plum mustard sauce took over 24 hours to prepare.
"We did all that so we could have a nice build of flavors on the dish," Jefferson said. "Every time we come out we want to give something different."
Sustaining local culinary staples wouldn't be possible without the community's support, Jefferson said. Taste of Starkville is a chance for area chefs to cordially compete, he added.
"We have excellent talent and there are so many great chefs in Starkville," Jefferson said. "It's nice to come out and mingle with the public. Normally if there is an event, we are always in the kitchen taking care of everything. This lets us get out."
The competition is a great way for chefs to experiment with new ideas, according to Jay Yates, owner of The Veranda.
"Taste of Starkville is a community-builder that we are honored to be a part of," Yates said. "Since it's partnered with Super Bulldog Weekend, it's really turned into a monster weekend."
The event's surprise element with pop-up awards categories keeps competitors busy, Reed said.
"Taste of Starkville is an integral part of the festival," Reed said.
For more information on the 2016 Cotton District Arts Festival, visit cdafestival.com. The popular annual event was hosted by the Starkville Area Arts Council and MaxxSouth Broadband.