The 10th Annual Art & Wine Festival
October 18, 2008
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What did you miss last year? Here is what the News
Herald had to say. |
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| Mexico Beach – Stained glass artist Teri Sorrentino attended the annual Mexico Beach Art and Wine Festival not so much to sell her work, but to relax and have a good time. "It's an opportunity to see some smiles," said Sorrentino, who made the trip to the festival at the Driftwood Inn. |
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And the smiles were plentiful, with the overall mood friendly and relaxed. The only time someone had a nose in the air was to take in the clear blue sky. The congenial atmosphere could very well be owed to the Driftwood Inns owner Peggy and Tom Wood, the couple who've hosted the event at their Inn for the past several years. "This is the only show I do," Sorrentino said, with her husband, Rick, sitting nearby. "The people who run it are so nice and the weather is perfect just like God wanted it. |
Sorrentino, a Panama City resident, was one of about 32 artist who displayed their work outside behind the remodeled Inn. The artist primarily from the Southeast. The emerald green water of the Gulf lapped the shores nearby as artist visited with each other and festival-goers. Proceeds from the event went to the city's Fourth of July fireworks fund, the police department and the Turtle Patrol. Festival chair Peggy Wood said last year's festival raised $2,500. She said aside from selling art and wine this year, CDs of jazz and blues singer Carole Kelley were for sale at $20. Kelley gave a live performance at the event. About $2,100 in cash and prizes was up for grabs in the art contest, which was divided into six categories: oil and acrylics, watercolors, pastels, sculpture/three dimensional, pottery/craft, and photography/digital. However there was much more a sense of camaraderie than of competition at the festival, which started at 3 p.m. |
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| "It's a great day," said photographer
Dana Palmer, a Mexico Beach resident, "I don't look at it as a way
to make money. I came here to talk with people. I'm so psyched to see
other artist in the community. That includes fellow photographer and Mexico Beach resident Sandie Yarbrough, who had her work on display beside Palmer's. "Dana encouraged me to enter the contest. She talked me into it, " said Yarbrough. |
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| Yarbrough sold a photograph titled "Inside
the Mist" a black and white shot of a foggy bayou taken at nearby
Crooked Island. Palmer had shots of Mexico Beach alongside other pictures of the Gulf Coast, such as Seaside. She moved to Mexico Beach from Ashland , Ore., and has not regretted the move. "I've lived all over the country and I can't think of any other place as peaceful as this" she said. Mexico Beach resident Jennifer Kalberer said this year's festival was better than last year's. "I think it's a lot nicer this year," she said. "The weather's better and things are more organized." To alleviate any parking problems, shuttle busses were made available in different areas of the city, according to Mexico Beach Community Development Council president J' Patrick Howard. "All someone had to do is stand by the road and wave at one of the trolleys," he said. Tom Quimby The News Herald |
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