MARIANNA ARTS FESTIVAL AND BBQ COOK-OFF SET FOR APRIL 15-17

The Seventh annual Marianna Arts Festival and BBQ Cook-Off is set for April 15, 16 and 17, at Citizen’s Lodge in Marianna.

The festival will be bigger and better than ever this year, with JT Curtis and the Silver Eagle band Friday night, a 5K Run Saturday morning and a big fireworks show Saturday night.

Festival activities begin Thursday, April 15, with the Paint-N-Pork Preview Dinner. The ticketed event is sponsored by Jackson Hospital and the Marianna Arts Festival, Inc. The ABS (All But Stressed) Band will play the favorites from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Dinner will be served from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. with entertainment continuing until 9 p.m.

Professional barbecue teams will create the entire meal, which will feature Boston butts prepared with the teams’ special recipes. Tickets for the preview dinner—$20 each—are available from festival committee members and at the following locations: Florida Land Title and Trust Company, Marianna Fire Department, Main Street Marianna, A Wild Hair, Tommy’s Auto Glass, Pelt Eye Clinic, Smith and Smith Jewelry and the Jackson County Floridan.

The festival opens to the public, Friday, April 16, at noon with entertainment throughout the day, including a big-time country music show featuring JT Curtis and the Silver Eagle Band. A Fender guitar will be given away to one lucky fan during the concert.

Daily admission is set at $3 per person. Friday and Saturday will include something for everyone—art vendors, food vendors, entertainment and children’s activities. Vendors interested in renting a space may contact Charlotte Brunner at 557-1841. Vendor application forms are available at www.mariannaartsfestival.com

The festival continues Saturday, April 17, with hours from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. The Second Annual Smiling Pig 5K Walk/Run, sponsored by Pediatric Dentist Dr. Ben Saunders, starts at 8 a.m. Entry fee is $15 before April 16, and $20 the day of the race. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Find entry forms at www.mariannaartsfestival.com, call Margo Lamb at 482-7721 or email: walkrun@mariannaartsfestival.com

The newest addition to this year’s contest is the Ultimate Hamburger Challenge. Open to all backyard grillers, contestants get five pounds of hamburger meat to cook up their best, secret burgers using charcoal, gas or wood. Each team provides their own buns and fixings. Entry fee is $25 with a $100 prize for the best burger. For information, contact Byron Bennett at bennettb@cityofmarianna.com.

For barbecue connoisseurs, a fee of $3 will let you be the judge in the People’s Choice Award. Your taste buds will determine the winner of some of the finest barbecue in the south as you get to judge the professional barbecue teams.

More than a dozen professional barbecue teams are expected to enter several festival competitions which are preliminaries to the Memphis in May national barbecue competition. For more information regarding the barbecue contests, contact Richard Kunde at 209-2959 or e-mail him at richardkunde@hotmail.com.

Festival-goers will enjoy a variety of food offered by the various vendors, such as chicken, hotdogs, hamburgers, barbecue, Asian cuisine, lemonade, ice cream, shaved ice, and funnel cakes. There will be tents, tables and chairs set up along with picnic tables under pavilions, with music and entertainment throughout the festival.

A variety of children’s activities are scheduled, including pony rides, train rides, a bounce house, giant slide, and face-painting.

Artists of all ages are invited to enter the art contests. There are two divisions: Students (Pre-K through 12th grade) and Adults. Entry fee is $3 per item for students and $5 per item for adults with a limit of two entries per artist. Categories include: drawing, mixed media, painting, photography, quilting, sculpture, texture, woodwork and miscellaneous. Cash prizes and ribbons will be awarded in each category. For art information, contact Lisa Pelt at 526-3214, or to download a contest entry form, visit www.mariannaartsfestival.com. Deadline for entries is April 10.

Entertainment coordinator Cindy Smith has scheduled constant and varied entertainment throughout the two-day event, including local school groups, dance groups and music of all types.

On Friday, Cottondale Elementary School Choir, Marianna High Jazz Band, Graceville Middle and High School Show Choir, Expression of Faith, Elizabeth and James Mathis and M-Pact Performance will light up the stage from noon to 5 p.m. Opening ceremonies including the “lighting of the pig” begin at 5:30 p.m. Country favorite Emerald County Line will warm up the crowd for a big performance by J T Curtis and the Silver Eagle Band. Visit the website at www.jtcurtis.com

On Saturday, Riverside Beaver Choir and The Dance Factory will put on a show in the morning. At 10 a.m., Smiling Pig race awards will be handed out. Later, Royce Reagan, Southern Impact, Swiftwater, Twenty on Red, Henshaw Young Adult Choir and Keely Raquel will take the stage. At 5:45 p.m. Saturday, the awards for barbecue will be handed out and will be followed by Dry Creek Bluegrass band. The festival will climax with a professional fireworks show sponsored by Marianna Toyota at approximately 8 p.m., Saturday night.

Over $15,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded during the festival. Entry fee into the festival is $3 per person. The festival is sponsored by the Jackson County Tourist Development Council, Jackson County Chamber, the Jackson County Floridan and WMBB-TV. Proceeds from the event go to the Marianna Art Museum.

More information is available at www.mariannaartsfestival.com or by sending a request to info@mariannaartsfestival.com.