Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hosts Art Walk

Fall is finally here, and in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, that means it's time for another Art Walk sponsored by the Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association, Hattiesburg Arts Council, The University of Southern Mississippi, Partners for The Arts, William Carey University, South Mississippi Art Association and the City of Hattiesburg.

This year's Fall Art Walk will take place on Saturday, October 6^th and will include a Crazy Bike Parade at 5:00 p.m. to promote cycling and to celebrate the installation of new bike racks at various intervals downtown.

Another new addition to this year's Fall Art Walk will be a film showing at the Saenger Theatre. The Metropolis will be presented by the Hattiesburg Film Society at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 2^nd.

And last but not least, the Fall Art Walk is planning to showcase some of the downtown swans, painted by local artists, in a Festival of Swans.

The Fall Art Walk has really flourished over the years. The first one I ever attended was way back in 1997, when revitalization efforts for the downtown area were just getting underway. There may have been six or seven galleries that featured local artists-mostly students from the University of Southern Mississippi or William Carey College-and it was kind of like walking around to six or seven different wine tastings.

Since that time, however, there has been an explosion of interest, and downtown Hattiesburg has undergone some pretty hefty improvements. There's now a town square, and the old train station has been updated and even includes a parking lot. A number of restaurants have opened up, including one of my favorites, 206 Front Street (yeah, that the name, not just the address of the place). Quaint little bookshops and galleries have popped up, the Saenger has completed its renovation, and the downtown area is becoming more and more of a hot spot for the city. And the Fall Art Walk has become something the entire family can enjoy.