Mississippi Gourd Society
Psi Chapter of the American Gourd Society
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FESTIVAL PLANNING MEETING
Mississippi Gourd Society members will meet on Saturday, January 28, 2012, at 2:00 p.m., at Mike and Michelle Thompson's home, 22864 Hwy. 18 East, Raleigh, MS, phone 601-782-9444. We will not have a meal this time, but feel free to bring snacks or drinks. Bring your ideas to help make our 3rd Annual Mississippi Gourd Festival even bigger and better. Think about some of the duties for which you'd like to volunteer.
We also want to thank each and every one of our volunteers who helped out at the 2011 Festival. We want you back, and bring your friends to help, too!
The objectives of the Mississippi Gourd Society are to promote the culture and crafting of gourds, to provide informational and
educational services to its members, to have all members involved in the promotion of gourds and gourd crafting, and to provide an
annual show for the promotion of gourds, gourd crafting, the sharing of ideas, and general fellowship with other members. We hope
you'll join us in this effort, both here in Mississippi and in other areas of the country. We're all gourdheads, no matter where we are!
educational services to its members, to have all members involved in the promotion of gourds and gourd crafting, and to provide an
annual show for the promotion of gourds, gourd crafting, the sharing of ideas, and general fellowship with other members. We hope
you'll join us in this effort, both here in Mississippi and in other areas of the country. We're all gourdheads, no matter where we are!
A Colorful, Fun Festival...As Show Chair, I have been busy preparing for the festival and updating the website to keep everyone posted. Now the festival is over and we're changing gears. Gourd festivals are quite unique and lots of fun. If you weren't there, you missed a treat! The Second Annual Mississippi Gourd Festival was a huge success. It was held at the Smith County Ag Complex in Raleigh, MS, Sept. 17-18, 2011. The weather was beautiful and it was nice and cool inside the Ag Complex. While vendors were setting up on Friday, students got an early start by attending early-bird classes. More classes were offered on Sat. and Sun.--a total of 18 classes over the weekend and a total of 105 students. We had Make It, Take It gourd projects for adults and children--Lots of beautiful crafted gourds to admire and buy--A huge variety of cleaned, dried gourds for your own gourd creations--Gourd banjos made and played by artisan, Jason Smith-- Tools and supplies--Great food prepared and served by the Smith County MHV, aka "Homemakers". The list could go on and on. Pictured is Miriam Joy's colorful booth at the festival.
We had some excellent instructors. Let us know what kind of classes you'd like to take next year. If you took a class this year and didn't fill out a class evaluation form, we'd love to hear from you. Honest feedback from students is crucial in selecting classes and instructors. Students, we'd love to see your class projects on our Mississippi Gourd Society Facebook page. Please include the name of the class and the instructor's name. I think people will be amazed at what can be done in a single gourdcrafting class at the festival. I'll keep the classes on the website a bit longer so they can be referred to after others see your beautiful class gourds!
We owe a huge thanks to our hard-working Mississippi Gourd Society members and the precious volunteers that pitched in to help. THANKS EVER SO MUCH! Volunteer and friend, Bettie Norwood, showed up on Saturday morning and I put her to work in the Make It, Take It booth. She had to learn and teach spirelli brooches (pins) at the same time and she was great! She caught right on. She begged to work there again the next day. That was music to my ears. She came back armed with some embellishments she'd gathered at home to share. It takes a lot of dedicated people and teamwork to pull off an event like this.
Thanks to all of you who came to the festival. We appreciated your sharing your time with us. Let us know what we can do to make the festival better for you next year. Come back to see us and bring some friends!
Thanks to Charlotte Graham with Laurel Leader-Call, The Post at Taylorsville, Susan Marquez, and Feather Graphics Web Design for sharing their excellent photos and articles. Check out these links: http://leadercall.com/local/x478402788/Out-of-their-gourd , Susan's blog, www.susanmarquez.blogspot.com, (The name of the blogpost is "Are You Out of Your Gourd???" and it was posted on Sept. 20, 2011), and www.facebook.com/featherde
See you next year at the Third Annual Mississippi Gourd Festival--3rd weekend in September, 2012, Smith County Ag Complex, Raleigh, Mississippi!
Michelle Thompson, Show Chair, 2011 Mississippi Gourd Festival
miketom1950@yahoo.com
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Publicity: Mention of the Mississippi Gourd Festival has been announced in the following publications: Southern Living, Mississippi Farm Country, Mississippi Magazine, Today in Mississippi, Mississippi Market Bulletin, Impact, Laurel Leader-Call, Smith County Reformer, The Post (Taylorsville, MS), and The Gourd Magazine. This is a partial listing. Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about the Mississippi Gourd Festival.
Glynda Phillips of Mississippi Farm Country interviewed MSGS members, Paul Grubbs and Mike and Michelle Thompson. Mississippi Farm Country is published by Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation. Thanks to Glynda for a job well done! You may view the articles about growing and crafting gourds in the Sept./Oct. issue by clicking on this link: http://www.msfb.org/news/farm%20country.aspx
Our President, Susan Byra, was a guest on Felder Rushing's Gestalt Gardener radio program, WLBT's Midday Mississippi in Jackson, and Good Morning Meridian on WTOK. Felder joined us at the festival on Saturday and Sunday!
Glynda Phillips of Mississippi Farm Country interviewed MSGS members, Paul Grubbs and Mike and Michelle Thompson. Mississippi Farm Country is published by Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation. Thanks to Glynda for a job well done! You may view the articles about growing and crafting gourds in the Sept./Oct. issue by clicking on this link: http://www.msfb.org/news/farm%20country.aspx
Our President, Susan Byra, was a guest on Felder Rushing's Gestalt Gardener radio program, WLBT's Midday Mississippi in Jackson, and Good Morning Meridian on WTOK. Felder joined us at the festival on Saturday and Sunday!
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Third Annual Shivers Gourd Festival
The Third Annual Shivers Gourd Festival in Shivers, MS, will be held on Saturday, May 12, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's a small gourd festival with lots of charm, in a park-like setting. It is hosted by MSGS member Paul Grubbs and will feature handcrafted gourds, dried gourds, music, food and good fellowship. Bring your lawn chairs. Self-contained RVs and campers are welcome. Click here to view a full-page flyer, including driving directions, of the 3rd Annual Shivers Gourd Festival.
You may view pictures taken at the 2nd Annual Shivers Gourd Festival by Susan Byra on the lower part of the Festival Pictures page. Please be patient while the pictures load. This photo was taken at the 2nd Annual Shivers Gourd Festival. It features a gourd vase, flowers and butterflies made with gourd pieces, and willow flowers by Martha Ertle and a blue St. Nick gourd by Georgie Foster.
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