MERIDIAN —     This year’s Threefoot Art Festival is scheduled Saturday, April 3, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in downtown Meridian.

    The event, sponsored by the Meridian Council for the Arts (MCA), actually combines two festivals into one – Arts in the Park and Threefoot Arts Festival – and will once again be held in the heart of downtown Meridian, making it the largest art and music festival in Lauderdale County.

    “It is wonderful to see thousands of people in downtown Meridian enjoying the festivities,” said Debbie Martin, president of the MCA Board of Directors. “This is an event that people look forward to every year, and the 2010 festival will not disappoint.”

    You can cheer on those participating in the Make-A-Wish Foundation Walk at 10 a.m. at the corner of Sixth Street and 25th Avenue. The Meridian Council for the Arts and the Make-A-Wish Foundation have a seven-year partnership in making wishes come true for thousands.

    After getting in that morning walk or run, take a break and grab a Threefoot Bloody Mary. Browse the fine arts and crafts from artists all across the Southeast gathered on Sixth and Seventh Streets from 23rd Avenue to 27th Avenue. Artists from six states will be competing for more than $5,000 in awards. Featured artwork includes paintings, pottery, jewelry,



photography, glass and fine wood crafts, all of which is original and most of which is affordable.

    Entertainment! begins at 10 a.m. on the Threefoot Art Festival stage with the sounds of blues, country, rock ‘n’ roll and more.

    For lunch, enjoy some great barbecue prepared by members of the Meridian Museum of Art. Be sure to save room for a sampling from the Threefoot Art Festival Chili Cook-Off, a crowd favorite, and cast your vote for the award-winning chili recipe. Teams will be located in the parking lot on the corner of Seventh Street and 24th Avenue.

    There’s plenty going on for the youngest artists out there, too. The hands-on children’s area will open at 9 a.m. and will be located in the parking lot at the corner of Seventh Street and 25th Avenue beside temporary City Hall. Get ready to dance, draw and sculpt during daylong activities celebrating all arts mediums.

    Kids also can enter their own work in the Youth Art and Photography Contest. All entries and winners will be on display at the Meridian Museum of Art. The deadline to enter and have the artwork at the Meridian Museum of Art is March 24. See entry forms at www.artsmeridian.org.

    Storytelling by Tall Tales and Recollections Storytellers of Meridian begin at noon. Enjoy yarns from the past and present as told by more than 12 storytellers from Mississippi and Alabama.

    Sponsors of this year’s Threefoot Art Festival include: Structural Steel Services Inc., the City of Meridian, Bud Light and Rosenbaum Properties. The festival is funded in part through the grants and contributions of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Mississippi Arts Commission.

    For more information, go to www.artsmeridian.org or call (601) 693-2787.