The Petal Arts Council’s inaugural Silent Auction and Artist Showcase brought in more than $1,000 last year for Petal Education Foundation scholarships and art-related events throughout the community.
Officials are hoping for another good showing for the second annual event, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. March 26 at Hancock Bank, 535 East Central Ave. in Petal. The auction will feature items such as paintings, woodworks, pottery, quilts, drawings and jewelry that have been hand-crafted and donated by local artists.
“Our goal is to just further the arts in the community,” said Jodi Brickson, who serves as a board member for the Petal Arts Council. “There’s similar organizations in Hattiesburg, but we really wanted to bring something unique to Petal.
“There’s so many people that are artists and are interested in music and dance and theater in the Petal community. So we’re really wanting to showcase that, and to encourage the growth of an arts community within Petal. And everything is hand-crafted; it’s not like we went and bought something at Walmart.”
In addition, the event will feature dancing from members of On Your Toes Dance Studio, along with entertainment from a local musician and the Petal Community Choir. Refreshments will be served at the showcase, which is free and open to the public.
“Anyone who is interested in furthering the arts in the Petal community is invited to attend,” Brickson said.
Individuals interested in donating items for the event can contact Brickson at (601) 520-0235.
“I think as long as we get it within the next two weeks, that’ll be plenty of time,” Brickson said. “Each item will have a bid sheet and an artist bio that’s attached with it, so the sooner we get the items, the sooner we can advertise them as those items, because we’re going to post some of the items that we’re starting to get on our Facebook page. That way people can see the types of items that we have, and hopefully build some excitement for the event.”
The funds raised will be used for the scholarship and future arts events, including children’s camps and music-in-the-park type events. With the upcoming event being bigger than last year, Brickson is looking forward to an even better turnout than the inaugural showcase.
“I think that ($1,000) was pretty good for being our first one,” Brickson said. “We have more items than we did last year, and I think there has been a greater interest this year.
“And with the addition of the entertainment, I think that will bring in more people. So we do hope that it’s a bigger event, and we’re hoping to grow the event so that maybe next year we’ll have it at the civic center for a bigger place to accommodate more items for more people.”
