Jazz and art fest coming

Julia Byrom helps Angel Wallace eat her barbecue during the 2009 Marianna Arts Festival and BBQ Cook Off Paint-N-Pork Preview Dinner.

By: By DEBORAH BUCKHALTER Floridan Staff Writer | Jackson County Floridan
Published: February 04, 2010

Late winter, spring and summer promise to be lively times in Jackson County as three big festivals are planned for February, April and May.
The first, “A Jazzy Day in Town,” is set for Saturday, Feb. 27, in downtown Marianna. It will be on Caledonia and McPherson streets. Musicians, artists, and cooks will be in the spotlight, and wine connoisseurs will get a special treat.
The second, “Marianna Arts Festival and Barbecue Cook-off” also known as the Paint ‘n’ Pork Fest, is set for Friday, April 16 and Saturday, April 17, at Citizen’s Lodge Park north of town off Caverns Road.
The third, “Compass Lake in the Hills Festival,” is set for Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 23 behind the subdivision’s community lodge. Shenandoah, a country band which has had several hits in recent years, will be the featured talent.
All three events include fundraising for various causes. See more on the April and May events in upcoming editions of the Floridan.
Admission to February’s “A Jazzy Day in Town” is free; however, an optional wine tasting event carries a price of $15 per person for a day pass. The festival begins at 11 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m.
Jazz musicians will play throughout the day, and artists will also be at work, giving the public a rare peek into their process.
A ‘taste of the town’ sampling by local restaurants and food vendors will also be available, with all area restaurants and food vendors invited to participate.
Money raised from the wine tasting and some of the other offerings will go to help develop the future Marianna Art, Culture and History museum.
The city plans to make a museum of the old SouthTrust Bank building at the corner of South Caledonia and Lafayette streets. The building, long shuttered, will be open for viewing during the festival. Members of the Artists Guild of Northwest Florida will be inside, painting canvases for a Main Street Marianna beautification project.
Children with a talent for art will get a chance to work as well, with hands-on art activities planned. Art demonstrations, a sidewalk chalk contest, face painting and more round out the fun.
The day is devoted to a higher purpose.
Event Chairman Mystie Richards, who owns the Bistro Restaurant within the festival’s location, said the main idea is to begin establishing that area of Marianna as the art district in town.
The Feb. 27 event is coordinated in partnership with Main Street Marianna. Main Street Director Charlotte Brunner serves as co-chair of the festival. Organizers hope the event will be the first of many such annual celebrations that aim to “promote, educate and increase awareness of a broad spectrum of the arts,” according to a press release about the event.
For more information about the festival, call Richards at 526-2226.