FESTIVALS

Local artist Jean-Marie McDonnell has donated a one-of-a-kind painting that will be included in a special drawing OAS weekend!!

Entries for an opportunity to win are available at the ESAC front desk now through Sunday, March 17. The winner will be chosen Sunday @ 4pm. You do not need to be present to win! $5 per ticket.

“Fairhope Tulips”
44″ x 44″
Acrylic on canvas
$925 Value

Jean-Marie is known for her bold brushwork and interesting color combinations using lots of paint on large canvases. She works with interior designers from concept to finish, producing work for both homes and commercial venues. She paints at The Garage Studio, a mile south of the The Grand Hotel.

FEATURING LIVE ART DEMOS ALL WEEKEND AT ESAC!
We are bringing the studio outside! Get a glimpse of the techniques and methods employed by talented local artists and ESAC instructors. You may even learn a secret or two!

FRIDAY, MARCH 15th
*10am – Noon*
Handbuilding & Throwing with ESAC students
*TBA*
Watercolors with Kathy Sheppard

SATURDAY, MARCH 16th
*10am – 1pm*
Encaustics with Julie Snidle
Watercolor & Mixed Media with Mary Lou Nicolai
Live & Large Acrylic Painting with Jessa Pippin (Paint Art Live)
*1 – 3pm*
Handbuilding and Throwing with Karin Hutchins
Felting with Charlsie Jones

SUNDAY, MARCH 17th
*10am – 1pm*
Meet & Greet with the Cast of “Matilda” (Eastern Shore Repertory Theatre)
*Noon – 1pm*
Crochet with Reanna Watson & Adrienne Clow
*1 – 3pm*
Acrylic Pours with Charlsie Jones

Live Demo Events are subject to change and cancellation due to weather conditions. Events will be in the front courtyard of the Eastern Shore Art Center. Encaustics demo will be in the foyer of the building.

MARY HARDY

Mary Hardy is a mixed media artist living and working on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Her work is an exploration of depth and surface incited by the transformational qualities of memory, lore, and myth. Hardy began her career with a Masters from the University of South Alabama in Art Education. During her tenure, she received the H.E.A.D.W.A.E award as the Faculty recipient for MS Gulf Coast Community College, as well as the MS Humanities Teacher’s Award. Her 27 year teaching career culminated in retirement from her final positions, Instructor of Drawing and Painting and Art Gallery Director for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

Mary’s work has been shown in solo exhibits, as well as juried and invitational group exhibitions at the Wiregrass Museum of Art, Carol Robinson Gallery (New Orleans, LA), South Arkansas Art Center, Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Lois Lambert Gallery (Santa Monica, CA) and many other galleries throughout the Mississippi Gulf Coast. She has been recognized with grants, fellowships, and residencies such as a Fellowship from Anderson Ranch Colorado and a Mississippi Arts Commission Fellowship Award for visual arts. Hardy was named the “2005 Artist of the Year” title, along with one other artist, by the MS Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. In addition to teaching and creating, Mary has also served as Curator for the Duckett Gallery at the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center for the Arts and Education and as a juror for regional and national art competitions.

Mary continues to share her passion for the arts by teaching workshops at venues throughout Mississippi, such as the historic Tougaloo College in Jackson to the Mary C. Okeefe Cultural Center of Arts in Ocean Springs. Her work is represented by Carol Robinson Gallery in New Orleans, LA and Fischer Galleries, Jackson MS.

BILLY MYERS

Bill Myers is a life-long artist with a professional career spanning over 50 years. While a student at Delta State University in Mississippi, he conducted his first professional exhibit in the Brooks Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, later graduating with a BFA. Myers continued to exhibit throughout the nation in such galleries as Lois Lambert Fine Arts in Los Angeles, CA, Al Walker Fine Arts in Boston, and the Garden District Gallery in New Orleans, LA.

Although a majority of his career has been as a studio artist, Mr. Myers has worked in galleries and museums throughout Mississippi, Louisiana, and Colorado. Bill Myers has served as a Preparator for the Walter Anderson Museum of Art (Ocean Springs, MS) and the Joan Robey Gallery (Denver, CO). He has assisted with Wyndy Morehead Gallery in New Orleans, LA and was Director of the Art Who Gallery in Ocean Springs. Myers received 12 appointments as an Artist in Residence for the Colorado Council of Arts in Denver.

Teaching in over six states, his career has taken him from the Clayton Summer Institute for the Arts (1987, Denver, CO) to his current position as a visiting artist for the ArtSmart Program at the Lancaster Youth Intervention Center (Lancaster, PA) where he shares his passion with young people in the juvenile justice system.

If you are traveling along Interstate 10, take Exit 35 and head south on US Highway 98. Continue following US Highway 98 for approximately 10 miles. Upon entering Fairhope on US Highway 98, also known as Greeno Road, you may turn right onto Fairhope Avenue and head west into Downtown Fairhope. The festival is located on the streets of Downtown Fairhope.

Please do not block parking lots & driveways of the area businesses. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

BRATS TO OFFER SHUTTLE SERVICE FOR FESTIVAL

Baldwin Regional Area Transit System (BRATS) will be offering shuttle service from Plantation Pointe Shopping Center (Piggly Wiggly), Eastern Shore Village (Big Lots), and the Fairhope Recreation Center (803 Greeno Rd.). Parking is free at these locations. Shuttle passes are $5 per person per day for an all-day pass. The shuttle service will run from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm on Friday, March 15th, Saturday, March 16th and Sunday, March 17th.

DOWNTOWN PARKING

Parking will be available on a first come first serve basis in the public parking garage off N. Church Street between Fairhope Avenue and Magnolia Avenue. Handicapped parking is available behind Julwin’s Restaurant.

BICYCLE VALET

If you’d like to ride to the festival on two wheels, free valet parking for bicycles will be provided behind the Fairhope Museum of History. The City of Fairhope’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and the Baldwin County Trailblazers are working together to organize this free and secure bicycle parking area. Volunteers will be on hand to check in and oversee the bicycle parking area. Bikes, segways, skateboards, scooters, and golf carts are not allowed past the valet into the festival area.

For complete information on great places to stay in and around the Eastern Shore, please contact:

Downtown Fairhope Business Association
(251) 929-1466 or www.fairhopemerchants.com

City of Fairhope
(251) 928-8003or www.cofairhope.com

Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce
(251) 621-8222, 928-6387 or www.eschamber.com

Information can be picked up at the Eastern Shore Art Center at 401 Oak Street. The Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival Information booth will be at Fairhope and Section.

RESTROOMS
Port-o-Lets are located throughout the downtown area. Indoor public restrooms are located within the Civic Center and the Welcome Center. The Eastern Shore Art Center will NOT have public restrooms.

Not permitted inside the festival: 
Bikes, segways, skateboards, scooters, pets and golf carts.