Street Talk

If you have been downtown recently during the day you can clearly hear a train. Drifting over town is a whistle long, clear, and moanful. A much deeper bass than any boom box echoing off the bricks is a rhythmic panting chug of coupled steam drive cylinders as they push and tug and strain. And then there is the sound of steel on steel. Sends a chill right down your spine. It is all part of Andrea Ray’s art installation titled “Waiting.”  Maybe it is waiting for something good to happen or come.  Or waiting for the train to arrive again or perhaps, depart for good.  
The three-part art installation opened last Friday night at Yalo Studio. The three parts are located out on Main Street, in Yalo Studio, and upstairs at the BTC Grocery building. Andrea Ray creating this site-specific interactive art project as part of a local on-going art effort sponsored by the Lapides Foundation.  The installation is open to hear, see, and enjoy until September.  
And mark your calendars because September is the official opening of the art season in Water Valley. The ArtCrawl is Saturday Sept. 21 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. You won’t want to miss this because no two crawls are ever the same. New art, new artists, new locations, new music along with some of the by now established art locations. The Water Valley Art Council puts this on every year “pro bono”. It is a great free event and the one time the collective art energy in the Valley really shines. It is a lot of work and some expense and if you want to help and be a part, contact Bill Warren (473-0972) or Ramona Bernard (473-9851) or me (473-6767).
Also it is going to be football season soon. The Blue Devils are already sweating. Be a big WVHS supporter and along with WV Main Street and the rest of the town come cheer them on at the downtown pep rallies August 29 and September 19. Make a note to be in Railroad Park and cheer the team on those afternoons.
This last strong front bringing cool air to the Valley signals the early ending of summer and start of fall. And that means soon (okay this might be a bit too early) the holiday season. Please note downtown there are several new stores open. Just recently. You should visit them out and see what they have and what they can do for you.
Sometimes it seems folks will see a place, but are scared to walk in the door. Check them out! The big plus of Main Street businesses is you meet the owner, a sales person, and a neighbor when you step inside. They are all the same person. And that Main Street merchant is the one who will give you the service you’ll never get at that out-of-state owned big box store in that other town up the road. You know what I’m talking about.  Shop the Valley! It matters.