Andy participated in the 36th Annual Peter Anderson Art Festival in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, November 1st-2nd. The Peter Anderson Arts & Crafts Festival began as a small celebration by a group of Ocean Springs artists and art enthusiasts. Now it has grown to one of the Southeast's premiere arts and crafts festivals. The Peter Anderson Art Festival was named after master potter Peter Anderson, who died of ALS in 1984 (coincidentally, Andy's dad has the same disease). Peter's brother Walter Anderson was also an accomplished artist before his death in the mid-1960s. The Anderson family has left quite an artistic mark on the Ocean Springs community, including the Walter Anderson Museum of Art and the Peter Anderson Art Festival. In fact, Walter's son John Anderson attended this year's festival and admired the wealth of talent on display.

Of the 425 booths showcased at the event, the judges selected Andy as winner of the Award for the Creative Arts, one of only five awards given out. What an honor! We were also delighted to find out that two of our friends were award recipients this year. South Alabama artist Melanie Blackerby won the Award of Excellence and Emerald Coast jewelry designer Mary Kay Samouce won the Booth Award (we do not personally know the other two winners).

It's estimated that between 150,000-180,000 people attended the 36th Annual Peter Anderson Art Festival last weekend. Despite the crowd, we visited with five familiar faces. Our friends, Pastors Bob and Sharon Parkes, just happened to be in town celebrating Bob's birthday. We also met our friend Nate's parents, Jerry and Pam. Lastly, we bumped into a former classmate, Lillian, who we haven't seen since 1995. Small world!

We made a new "friend" at the festival - a possum, courtesy of Doug from Wild at Heart Rescue. Our youngest two children traveled with us and were pretty impressed when they got to pet Flower. Isn't she cute?

The boys and I also met a really cool dog. Cooler than me, probably.

Also, for those who travel and participate in art festivals, check out our parking spot. We were about three feet from the back of our tent. How awesome is that?! It sure did make breakdown a million times easier. I'd pay extra for convenience like that!