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We headed south from Fayetteville
to Hogansville, Georgia for the annual Hummingbird Arts and Crafts Festival
recently. Wandering around the town made the trip worthwhile! Gorgeous old
southern architecture and loads of tents with crafts kept our eyes traveling
from one spot to the next.
Maybe my friend Bonnie and I have become "art snobs" but neither of us found
much of interest. Of course, we were looking for art, not necessarily
crafts. And, we were there toward the end of the show so it's possible we
missed some of the better booths.
I was probably a bit disappointed, which skewed my judgement. I really,
really wanted to see some art. It seems most of the shows are attracting
those who knit, sew, and make ornaments. Nothing wrong with that at all,
unless you're looking for pottery, sculpting, paintings and similar.
There were a lot of tents with jewelry and plenty of home made crafts. Very
little in the line of unique art or pottery. We very much enjoyed watching
some of the craftmen as they made wood bowls and chipped away at stone to
make arrowheads. I love seeing the process as things are created. Even if
it's not something I might buy, I always appreciate good craftmenship and
those who love their "work".
It was THE place to be if you had a "hankering" for some good southern food!
We both picked up some honey and broke out diets to eat a huge salty
pretzel. However, that's all we took home.
We were both enthralled with the town itself. It's a photographers dream! We
noted there were a lot of for sale signs, which might mean times are tougher
in Hogansville than in some other areas. The restaurant located in the old
train and train depot near the railroad tracks that I've been wanting to try
was closed. Everyone we talked to said they had great food, just no traffic.
Hogansville is a bit off the beaten path. Unless you live nearby, it's a
trek from most of the larger cities. However, it's sandwiched between two
main well-traveled roads (Hwy. 85 and I think it's 19 / 41 on the other
side...).
In talking with some of the vendors at the show we were told the organizers
are considering (or will be) moving to a juried show next year. That would
eliminate some of the duplications and raise the quality a notch or two (or
three).
I'll be watching to see what they do next year. I may give it one more try
before marking it off my list of things to do each year. I will say that the
vendors we talked to weren't unhappy with their sales. Based on the fairly
large crowds we saw, my opinion probably isn't going to have any impact on
their success! -
the art snob |
