Threefoot Festival kicks off Friday night downtown

Apr. 18—Despite a forecast for rain, the annual Threefoot Festival will kick off in downtown Meridian on Friday night with a one-mile race and a free music concert, then return Saturday morning for a full day of art, music and good food.

Sponsored by the Meridian Council for the Arts, the Threefoot Festival will take place from 5:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m until 5 p.m. on Saturday. Admission to the festival is free, and family friendly activities will take place on the city hall lawn along 23rd Avenue.

The Threefoot Mile Race, an annual event, will kick off the weekend beginning at 6 p.m. Friday. The race will start at Baptist Anderson Hospital's North campus courtyard along 20th Avenue, in the location where the Anderson Cup Road Race traditionally begins. The race course will cover one mile, ending between Threefoot Brewing Co. and the city hall lawn.

Anyone interested in participating in the Threefoot Mile can still sign up Friday at Baptist Healthplex-Anderson's front desk. The registration fee is $35, and awards will be presented at 6:30 p.m. on the city hall lawn

Kicking off the festival's entertainment on Friday night, beginning at 5:30 p.m., will be Clarksdale blues keyboardist, singer and songwriter LaLa Craig, a regular artist at Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero Blues Club. A native of California, Craig got her start in music performing with her family's country band at the age of four. By the time she was in her 30s, she had discovered her passion for the blues. An award-winning songwriter, Craig has performed at blues festivals around the world.

The festival will continue Saturday morning on the city hall lawn at 9 a.m. with more than 70 vendors slated to take part in a marketplace and food court, including artists, craftsmen, non-profit organizations, businesses and food vendors. From handcrafted pottery to paintings to needlecraft to jewelry to homemade candles, there should be something to interest people of all ages at the festival.

The annual Threefoot Youth Art Contest Exhibition will be on display from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday at the Meridian Museum of Art, located at the corner of Sixth Street and 25th Avenue. Admission is free. The exhibition will feature works by students in kindergarten through 12th grades. Students will compete in the categories of painting, drawing, mixed media, 3D sculpture and photography.

An awards presentation will be held at noon on the festival's main stage to announce the winners of the youth contest. First, second and third-place cash prizes and ribbons, as well as honorable mention ribbons, will be awarded.

Musical entertainment will be provided at the festival throughout the day.

Saturday's headliner will be The Lach Thornton Band, featuring native son and former Lamar School student Lach Thornton. Always a favorite on the local music scene, Thornton is now rocking the stages in Nashville, Tennessee, where he is working to make a name for himself in the music industry. He and his band will bring their Southern rock sound to the main stage at 3 p.m.

Other acts slated for Saturday's musical lineup include Shelby Anderson performing at 9:15 a.m. followed by Grayson Culpepper at 10:30 a.m., the West Lauderdale High School jazz band at 11 a.m., ballerinas from Carol Merrill Academy of Dance at 11:30 a.m., Britt Gully and the Water Moccasins at 12:30 p.m. and Cat 3 Boogie Band at 1:30 p.m.

A talented musician, Anderson is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, drummer, harmonica player, keyboard player, engineer, instructor and producer from Mississippi. Fourteen-year-old Culpepper is driven by a deep love for music that has been with him since childhood. He has been popping up at festivals and events around town for the last couple of years.

Gully, a well-known musician in the Meridian area for the last few decades, is a singer and songwriter whose country sound features a blend of rockabilly, honky tonk and gospel.

For more information about the Threefoot Festival, visit the council's website at meridianartscouncil.org.

Contact Glenda Sanders at gsanders@themeridianstar.com.