Downtown Starkville will be filled with sights, sounds and smells Saturday, all with a distinct local flavor, as the Cotton District Arts Festival will be in full swing.Administrators and supporters of the festival feel it’s an excellent opportunity for Mississippi State students to check out some of the music, artwork and food that come directly from Starkville.
“It’s definitely a cool festival,” said Jim Beatty of Backstage Music, who is one of the event’s three co-chairs. “The thing that’s cool about this festival is that it’s music and art. No crafts. No crap. Nothing made out of wood and rubber bands. There’s some really great art there.”
The Cotton District Arts Festival only features Starkville-based artists.
The local focus of the festival has garnered much praise.
“It’s better than Bulldog Bash because it’s all local,” said Todd Rowan, Starkville resident and guitarist for Young Agent Jones. “There was an article [opinion column] written in The Reflector not too long ago about how Starkville doesn’t have any culture, and I think that was extremely misguided. It has a lot, but people don’t seek it out. There’s remarkable talent in this town. The Cotton District Arts Festival is a prime festival for things that happen here in Starkville. There are great things happening here.”
According to the event’s Web site, the festival will include more than a dozen local food vendors and more than 100 local arts vendors.
There will be three stages set up with nonstop live music from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Just a few of the festival’s events include a poetry slam, an international village, the Junior Humane Society’s children’s pet parade and the Father of Waters Bagpipe Parade.
Music at the festival will include Jesse Robinson, Cary Hudson, Daybreak Down, Mayhem String Band, Big Blue Truck, Bark, Young Agent Jones, Z-Flo, The Persians, Seth Libbey, the Starkville Jazz Alliance, Roadhouse, Big Jim and the Hotshots, Joe Whaley and the Benders, Waco Dead, Jubilee, The Catdaddy’s and the Kitchen Blues Band. Theater will also be an aspect of the festival, as Starkvile Community Theatre will be performing the comedy “Aspirin and Elephants” the night of the festival.
“It’s supposed to be amazing,” Rowan said.
The festival is completely free and is within easy walking distance of the MSU campus.
“It’s going to be blocked off,” Rowan said. “You can just walk around during the day. Whatever you want is there. There will be people doing poetry readings. There will be people playing acoustic. There will be people showing their artwork. Whatever their specific interest is, that’s what they do. There will be people selling jewelry, paintings and stained glass, their local wares. It’s exactly its namesake: the Cotton District Arts Festival; arts being plural.” Rowan said all students and Starkville residents should join in the festivities.
“I definitely think it should be supported,” Rowan said. “Why not support what you have in your own backyard?”
Courtesy photos
The 2007 Cotton District Arts Festival will feature local bands (left to right) Mayhem String Band, Big Blue Truck and Young Agent Jones, among others.