Spend a shady day Pascagoula Beach Park to take in the sights, sounds, and food at Art in the Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 27.
The family-friendly festival event is free to the public and will allow for festival-goers to enjoy a stroll through the shady park, taking in the festival, while also enjoying the sea breeze and views of the water.
Music and food are also part of the event festivities. Visitors can expect everything from pineapple bowls and frozen bananas and fondue to gourmet hot dogs, burgers, funnel cakes, as well as lemonade, kettle corn, cheesy fries, and more from vendors across the Southeast. Musicians and performers will provide entertainment throughout the day. Guest can expect everything from folk and pop rock to Christian music during the event.
The event will also highlight community interaction with a focus on veterans. There will be various groups at the festival providing veterans with information on local benefits and services they may not know about. In addition, Gulf Coast Vets, an organization based out of Louisiana will be handing out free American flags to veterans. These flags were donated by Lamar and Brenda Queen of Vancleave. Free military caps will also be given out to those who have served.
Art in the Park is actually a return of the Arts in the Park festival that was held in Pascagoula from the 1970s to the 1990s. According to Wendy Arthur, local artist and event coordinator, the original event was run by the Junior Auxiliary, and many things in town suffered from Ingalls Shipbuilding received less Navy contracts back in the day. She said that now is the perfect time to bring back the festival with the re-opening of previously closed shipyards at Ingalls and because Pascagoula is once again building and expanding.
“I heard about the original Arts in the Park that successfully ran for more than 20 years in Pascagoula,” Arthur said about her decision to start up this event again. “I wanted to bring back to life an event that brought joy to so many in our community in years past. It’s time to bring back Art in the Park and continue building that bond of community. Art is a wonderful and beautiful way to do that.”
Arthur has been working closely with various members of the staff at the City of Pascagoula as well as Main Street Pascagoula to put on the event.
Currently, all of the food vendor spaces are filled, but they are still looking for exhibitor and performers. A 10 by 10 booth is only $25. You can find the application here. For more information on the festival, you can find them on Facebook.