Art, music celebration come together

Published 11:05 pm Friday, April 1, 2011

Storms in April bring in the beautiful landscape of May flowers and greenery so what better way to celebrate the arrival of May than with great music, food and art?

ArtsRevive in downtown Selma is partnering with WDXX and WHBB (BroadSouth Communications, Inc.,) to bring “Celebrating Alabama’s Best through Art, Music and All Things Alabama,” at its first ArtsRevive Streetfest scheduled for May 6.

From 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., the free event will center around the newly-renovated, ArtsRevive Carneal Building, located at the intersection of Church Street and Water Avenue, and will have live music from local acts as well as the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and food from regional vendors. Crime Stoppers (Leadership Selma-Dallas County) will also hold its annual Billy Atchison Memorial Catfish Fry fundraiser from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m.

Email newsletter signup

Fran Pearce, ArtsRevive board chairman, said the group has wanted something like this for a while.

“We’ve been to other street fests in different places and thought it was a good idea to bring it here and bring exposure,” Pearce said. “We feel like it would be a wonderful venue for artists, musical acts and those who sell fresh produce and vegetables.

“We hope this event will be the beginning of more successful events and a way to bring people back to historic downtown,” Pearce said. “We want everyone to benefit together. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

Carolyn Rowell, promotions director for BroadSouth Communications, Inc., said the event offers something different to Selma.

“We want to focus on all things Alabama as our theme suggests,” Rowell said. “We’re hoping to attract artists who paint, make bird houses, produce homegrown products, whatever. We want the area to be full of music and good food.”

Rowell encourages interested food vendors to download the $25 vendor application from www.artsrevive.com. Proceeds will go to ArtsRevive. Musicians interested in performing at the event can call Rowell at 875-3350 or go online to Carolyn@wdxx.com.