Indianola Chamber Main Street announces scheduled events for the annual Indian Bayou Arts & Eats Festival, now in its 8th year. The fall festival will be held on Saturday, September 28, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., across from the B.B. King Museum and Blue Biscuit along the Indian Bayou in Indianola.
Forty to 50 artists will exhibit works in an array of mediums including original paintings, wood carvings, photography, pottery, handmade jewelry, fiber art and clothing, quilts, Choctaw crafts, furniture and more.
In addition to visual arts, the culinary arts were added to the 2017 festival with gourmet food vendors from the Mississippi Delta and beyond showcasing homegrown and locally made foods. Also the Craig Claiborne Pecan Pie Competition is in its third year, and plans are even bigger this year. Home cooks will face off with their homemade pecan pie creations, in both traditional and creative categories, with winners determined by a panel of judges. Festival goers will be able to choose a people’s choice winner by tasting and voting for the best creation. The name of the competition is an homage to Sunflower County native son Craig Claiborne, the former longtime food editor of The New York Times, known in history as creating the five-star restaurant review system.
An all-day family-friendly event, the Children’s Creative Art Tents will encourage kids to design and display their own art projects, do spin art and paint pumpkins, plus peruse a reading corner with free books from the Library. Hearty Heart with OrganWise Guys will be there providing fun activities while encouraging a healthy lifestyle.
Special guest cartoonist Ricky Nobile, from Moorhead and Hattiesburg, will be drawing complimentary caricatures throughout the festival.
Festival food will include vendors serving hot tamales, jerk chicken nachos, Jamaican jerk sausage, barbecue, hamburgers, loaded fries, funnel cakes, kettle corn, shaved ice sno-cones and also beignets made by the Friends of the Library.
The annual Delta Dog Show, sponsored by Planters Bank, is an afternoon treat with our furry friends. Prizes are awarded in several categories. Funds raised will go to the Sunflower County Humane Society. And the Humane Society will have animals present all day for adoption.
With live music on stage throughout the day, including the B.B. King Museum All-Stars, the festival is a community celebration of art, food and live talent.
The Indian Bayou Arts & Eats Festival is an Indianola Chamber Main Street Project. Exhibit space for artists and artisan food creators is still available. Applications are available at Indianola Chamber Main Street or The Crown Restaurant in Indianola, where forms are also available for the Pecan Pie Competition. For information, call the Chamber at 662-887-4454.
2019 Indian Bayou Arts Festival application