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On Saturday, April 20, the heat of previous days broke for a day of cool temperatures as guests from far and wide entered Montevallo to take part in the 17th annual Montevallo Arts Fest. (For the Reporter/Jason Homan)

By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – On Saturday, April 20, the heat of previous days broke for a day of cool temperatures as guests from far and wide entered Montevallo to take part in the 17th annual Montevallo Arts Fest.

Planned and organized by the Montevallo Arts Collaborative, the free event ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Montevallo’s Orr Park. Throughout that time, thousands of locals and visitors from across the region made their way through the event and along the banks of Shoal Creek while they enjoyed a day dedicated to art and community.

“Our attendance was wonderful,” said Melanie Poole, president of the Montevallo Arts Collaborative. “The weather cooperated and it was just an all-in-all great day. Our estimate is between 3,000 and 3,500 people. We had 111 artists, artisans and community nonprofit booths.”

During the festival, artists and artisans from Alabama and across other southern states such as Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina all lined the festival grounds to display and sell their works that ranged across a wide range of mediums and styles.

In addition to the vendors and informational booths, guests were also able to sample a large variety of food trucks that included Moe’s and Moore’s BBQ Travel, Love Coffee, Terrific Treatz, The Frozen Rooster, Sunshine Lemonade, Frios, Pazzo Pizza and Tasso Stratus standing among the many featured names and brands.

“We had over a dozen food vendors and five fantastic musical acts that started at 11 a.m. and went through to 4 p.m.,” Poole said.

Beginning at 11 a.m., Alexa Fontaine kicked off the festival’s musical branch of entertainment and was followed by Ramblin Ricky Tate, Murder of Jane Crow, Shaheed & DJ Supreme and the High Fidelics all of which each played the main stage for roughly an hour apiece.

The festival also involved a number of prizes that were awarded to the event vendors and participating artists at an awards ceremony held at 3 p.m. In addition to the 14 categories that were given special recognition, an event-wide raffle was also held that saw one individual go home with prizes.

Eva Pun, whose work was classified as mixed media, was selected out of the event’s participating artists and artisans as being the best in show overall.

The winners for each other category were as follows:

•  Best in painting: Tammy Evans
•  Best in printmaking: Aiyanna Boykins
•  Best in photography: Butch Oglesby
•  Best in mixed media: Eva Pun
•  Best in wood: Essie Ebrahimi
•  Best in metal: William Colburn
•  Best in clay: Kim Orsini
•  Best in glass: Rhandie Weaver
•  Best in jewelry: Antje Shiffer
•  Best in textiles: Paan Jindapon
•  Best in other: Steve Gilbert
•  First place in fine art: Candy Mayer
•  First place in fine craft: Ron Herbster

While Montevallo Family Dentistry served as the title sponsor for the event, Poole and the board of directors of the Montevallo Arts Collaborative also leant credit to every other sponsor that helped to make the event a successful outing.

The Montevallo Arts Festival received sponsorships from the following organizations:

Gold Level Sponsors

•  Pic ‘n Sav Cost Plus
•  CUTCO, The World’s Finest Cutlery

Silver Level Sponsors

•  The city of Montevallo
•  The Montevallo Chamber of Commerce
•  JP Builders
•  Discover Shelby
•  Montevallo Main Street
•  University of Montevallo College of Fine Arts
•  University of Montevallo University Relations
•  Trustmark
•  Shelby County Newsmedia, Inc.
•  Falcon Art Supply
•  Blue Phrog Gallery
•  Dixie Decorations

Bronze Level Sponsors

•  The Shelby County Arts Council
•  Jefferson State Community College
•  The Dive Bar
•  Crimson Holdings LLC

“I can’t say enough good things about our board of directors, the city of Montevallo and all of the sponsors and volunteers who helped us make this such a seamless effort,” Poole said.

Although the Montevallo Arts Fest now has another year to go before its return to Orr Park, Poole and the Montevallo Arts Collaborative encourage all members of the community to keep their other upcoming events in mind throughout the year.

The Tinglewood Festival is currently scheduled to occur on Sept. 7 of this year, and will also be followed by the Montevallo Art Stalk and the second annual Merry Market, which will return this October and November respectively.

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