Fall Artisan Trail
November 15th

One of the most anticipated events on the Arts in McNairy calendar just got a lot better! The fall Artisan Trail tour is expanding to include several new artisan stops and the Adamsville rural heritage festival. It will be a great time to pick up unique, one of a kind, Christmas gifts, learn about the folk and fine art traditions of McNairy County and meet some of the best artists and artisans in Southwest Tennessee.

The biannual AiM Artisan Trail tour is an open invitation to visit with the artists and artisans in their shops and studios. Participants can watch the artists plying their trade, learn about their artistic process first hand and purchase their work. First time visitors will enjoy meeting the artists and seeing them in action while those who have participated in the past will find plenty of new things to excite their curiosity.

Participating artisans will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 15th. Visitors may start at any of the studios listed below and call on as many artists as their time and interests will allow. Updated maps will be available at all locations on the tour and there are no admission fees. Online maps will also be available for download on this blog, one week prior to the event.

Stops featured on the AiM Artisan Trail, November 15, 2008 fall tour are:

Hockaday Handmade Brooms - Selmer
Finger Broom and Mop - Selmer
Appalachian Threads - Adamsville
Firehouse Studio - Selmer
2-B Pottery - Stantonville
Eco-Art by Tim Pace - Finger
Woodturnings by Patricia Fisher - McNairy
ATMT Art Gallery - Adamsville
Beulah Land Alpaca Farm - Ramer
Rose Creek Village Arts - Rose Creek
Needles-N-Pins Quilters - Bethel Springs
Trail Head and Heritage Festival - Adamsville
McNairy County Museum - Selmer
Duncan Christmas Tree Farm - Selmer

Please note that the schedule and participants are subject to change. Please visit this blog for final updates and current information before November 15.

Sandy Carroll Gets Brass Note on Beale

Though she is one of the best known and loved, Beale Street, artists of her generation, Sandy Carroll is a McNairy County original. Heavily influenced by the potent combination of Blues, Gospel and Rockabilly Music of her native Southwest Tennessee, Sandy found her musical voice at an early age. After several years of performing around the country, Beale Street beckoned and Sandy landed at Lafayette's Corner on Beale in 1983. She was the headliner there for more than a year and became a regular at several other Beale Street hot spots. By 1984 she had released her first album. The rest, as they say, is history.

Sandy has recorded four solo CD's and a number of compilation projects including the 2002 release, "Memphis Belles - Past, Present and Future" featuring, Ruby Wilson, Carla Thomas and Cybill Shepard among other legendary female artists. Her skills as a writer have also been in great demand and Sandy's songs been recorded by literally dozens of other musicians and singers including such Blues luminaries as Albert King, Luther Allison and Don McMinn.

Performing at concerts, festivals and clubs across the U.S. and abroad while maintaining a busy Beale Street schedule, Sandy has performed with Rufus Thomas, The Memphis Horns and countless others over the years. She is featured in the 2001 syndicated PBS concert special, "In Their Own Voices," which pays tribute to Memphis' incredible songwriting tradition.

Sandy and her Grammy Award winning husband, Jim Gaines now live in the Pickwick area and they have converted the Carroll family home at Stantonville into a recording studio. In 2006 Sandy returned to McNairy County for a homecoming concert during the AiM Summer Concert Series much to the delight of her local friends and family. She continues to work around the region and nationally at selected events and appearances. You can keep up with her busy schedule by checking her website and blog with the links listed below.

Arts in McNairy is proud to be among the first to announce that Sandy is being awarded one of Memphis music's highest honors, the Brass Note on Beale, Friday, October 24 at 5:30 PM. The presentation ceremony at W.C. Handy Park, will kick off a weekend of music celebrating the 25th anniversary of the revitalization of Beale Street and the revival of the Memphis Blues tradition. Other inductees include Don McMinn, Preston Shannon and Kevin Paige. All artists will perform following their induction with a 9:30 Jam Session capping a spectacular evening of Blues.

Congratulations Sandy! You make us proud!

http://www.bessieblues.com/
www.myspace.com/bessieblues

A Christmas Carol Cast List

We want to thank everyone for two excellent nights of auditions and some great performances during Thursday's call backs. You've succeeded in making the casting decisions very difficult! As always, we sincerely appreciate the enthusiastic support McNairy County shows for AiM's community theatre program.

Please be aware that the first cast meeting will be held 6:00 PM, Monday, October 13th at Eastside Church of Christ, 1366 East Poplar (Hwy 64 East) in Selmer. The meeting will be held in the gym/fellowship building and all cast members are expected to attend. If you are unable to accept the role in which you have been casted or if you can not make the first meeting, you should notify director, Tom Cook as soon as possible at the following email address: tcook@cancercarecenter.org

Once again, thanks for your interest in this production. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting or future AiM auditions!

A Christmas Carol Cast List:

Jacob Marley – Robert Lee Kirk
Ebenezer Scrooge – Joshua Sanders
Bob Cratchit – Robb Gilchrist
Fred, Scrooge’s Nephew – Greg Dickerson
Fundraiser – Emily Pitts
Fundraiser – Sarah Hockaday
Girl 1 – Maggie Whitaker
Girl 2 – Mary Anna Tucker
Boy Scrooge – Konner Davis
Young Man Scrooge – Scotty Williams
Fezziwig – Vincent Oliveira
Ghost of Past – Teresa Gibens
Ghost of Present – Brian Essary
Ghost of Future – Payden Donahoe
Tiny Tim Cratchit – Sammy Bakeer
Peter Cratchit – Joey Bakeer
Joe - Buyer of Scrooges belongings – Glen Lewis
Husband of Caroline – Zube Pavao
Men in street scenes – Dillon Rorie, Josh Lewis, Chaseton Donahoe, Tom Hobbs
Fan, Scrooges sister – Allie Pitts
Young Belle – Kara Lynne Wilson
Older Belle – Joanna Pitts
Mrs. Cratchit – Heather Ashe
Belinda Cratchit – Ryleigh Hillard
Gillian Cratchit – Jessica Campbell
Miranda Cratchit – Anna Grace Ashe
Martha Cratchit – Rachel Fagan
Fred’s wife – Alaina Hartle
Three women who sell Scrooges belongings – Hadassah Park, Pamela Joy Kline, Chloe Joy
Caroline – Cortney McDaniel
Mrs. Fezziwig – Jennifer Joy
Women in street scenes – Edith Horst, Andrea Channell, Evelyn Horst, Cheyenne Oliveira, Danica Hobbs, Chavvah Fagan, Carrie Lewis
Choir - Men and Women who serve in street scenes will be used as choir

Photo Contest Reception & Exhibit October 12th

Arts in McNairy's annual photography contest and exhibit has quickly become one of the mainstays of the Visual Arts Committee's yearly activities. Now in it's fifth season, the contest continues to grow and improve each year under the direction of contest chairman Mark Boehler and VA Chair George Souders. This year's contest, again, attracted almost 300 entries form amateur photographers around the midsouth. "We are very happy with the contest and the interest shown by area photographers," said Boehler. "We have some really quality art work and people will enjoy coming to see the photos," he continued, referring to the opening reception being held this weekend. Souders added that the number of participating photographers was up this year due, in part, to the handsome purse being offered for the winning photographs and the strong possibility of selling the photographs at the reception and show. The awards reception and exhibit opening will be held Sunday, Oct. 12 from 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. at the UTM McNairy Center, 1269 Tennessee, Ave. in Selmer. The catered reception is free to the public and everyone is invited to attend and enjoy the photos and a chance to meet the artists. The exhibit will be on display daily at UTM McNairy from 9:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. through November 14th for those who happen to miss the reception. The 2008 AiM Photography Contest Results

Architectural Landscape

1. Lisa Wilbanks, Corinth - Crossfire

2. Patricia Fischer, Bethel Springs - Elvis in Australia

3. Marti Thweatt, Ramer - Street in Salvador

HM Cheryl Meints, Corinth - A Distant Memory

Digital/Computer Enhanced

1. Charles Randolph, Bethel Springs - Rainbow Reflections

2. Don Meints, Corinth - Mama's Store

3. D. Meints, Corinth - Bicycle

HM Doris Hurley, Kingsport - In the Spotlight

Natural Landscape

1. Gary Kirk, Finger - Pier into a Dawn in Blue

2. Kerry Seghers, Medina - Lover's Key

3. Brenda McSurley, Nashville - Misty Morning

HM D. Meints, Corinth - Drought

Black & White

1. Briana Brakhage, Bethel Springs - Man's Job

2. Brandy McClain, Selmer - Blast From the Past

3. Donna Plunk Mayfield, Selmer - Scenes From the Past on the Farm

HM Ashley Blankenship, Selmer - Walking the Dog

McNairy County

1. Patricia Fischer, Bethel Springs - Fire in the Sky

2. Debbie Harbin, Adamsville - Door of Opportunity...Closed

3. B. McClain, Selmer - Browsing the Web

HM Ashley Tyler, Selmer - Colorful Music

Animal/Pets/Wildlife

1. Renee Young, Slemer - Casper the Friendly Cat

2. Steve Vetter, Bethel Springs - Can I Have a Lick

3. S. Vetter, Bethel Springs - Welcome Spring

HM C. Meints, Corinth - Dancing with a Crab

People

1. Virginia Williamson, Jackson - Honey Boy Edwards

2. Melissa Williams, Michie - Spirit of a Child

3. Ashley Hartle, Selmer - Open Wide

HM Elyse Martin, Selmer - Days Gone By