Robins Street Art Stroll returns to downtown Tupelo historic neighborhood
Sep. 10—TUPELO — Forty-four artists will be exhibiting their work at the Robins Street Art Stroll on Sept. 17 in downtown Tupelo.
"They'll have everything from paintings, pottery and metal work to jewelry, textiles and woodworking," said Susan McGukin, the event chairman.
The festival is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the 400 block of Robins Street. Parking is available at Milam Elementary or along neighborhood streets.
The event will also feature a variety of music throughout the day. Celtic harpist June Caldwell will play at 10 a.m., followed by RHG Jazz Cats, a Dixieland jazz band, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tupelo High School's Structure and Orchestra bands will perform from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and acoustic guitarist and singer Eric Stoddard will play at 3 p.m.
Food and drink will be provided by Talbot House, The G Spot food truck, Ambition Coffee and the Link Centre.
There will also be children's activities and a silent auction of artists' work, along with a book-signing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring longtime Daily Journal editor/columnist Leslie Criss, who wrote "Still and Yet: A Collection of Columns."
The festival was started in 2016 to support local and regional artists and to give the community an opportunity to see, enjoy and buy amazing art, McGukin said.
"This year we did an application process and screened artists," she said. "We accepted 95% of what came in. These are artists. We have one guy coming from Tampa, Florida, and a woman from the Mississippi Coast. It's become a more regional event. At least a third of the artists are new to the festival."
Each artist will have a booth space to showcase their work.
"Three Tupelo High School art students are going to be sharing one booth," McGukin said. "I reached out to their teacher and suggested this would be a good opportunity for them to learn about promoting themselves and their work."
In case of rain, the event will be held at Church Street School.
"We didn't have the art stroll in 2020 or 2021 because of COVID," McGukin said. "The last year we had it, in 2019, it was at Church Street because of inclement weather. But I've been checking the forecast, and the weather for Sept. 17 looks perfect."
While making money is not this event's primary goal, any proceeds above costs will help fund a neighborhood project or one of the art projects at the Link Centre, McGukin said.
To see the artists that will be featured, find Robins Street Art Stroll on Facebook.
