A Convivial Night Downtown
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Visitors browse artwork at Gordon Gallery during Saturday night’s 18th annual Water Valley Art Crawl. The gallery was one of 13 stops featured during the downtown event. – Photo by Linda White
By Jack Barry
Guest Contributor
Although abstemiousness was not much in evidence last Saturday night in downtown Water Valley, conviviality, conversation and creativity presented themselves and claimed center stage at the 18th annual Art Crawl. There was wine aplenty, artwork abundant, and people perambulating.
With Herald head honcho David Howell off doing a bit of the Lord’s work at Parchman Farm last weekend, it fell to your correspondent to reportorially stroll around town, shoot the breeze, and admire what the Water Valley Main Street Association had wrought. This was not the toughest assignment ever. It was more like having a beautiful, relaxing night. It recalled to mind the line from sportswriting legend Joe H. Palmer: “I am as adept at leisure as any man alive.”
As a reporter, I deal in facts, and it is a plain fact that every aspect of the 2026 Art Crawl lent itself to being held in high regard: the early October evening was suitably warm and humid; the art on offer was as varied and interesting as the assortment of citizens who showed up to see it; and the assortment behaved in a civilized and festive manner. In short, a good time was had by Crawl.
One fun thing about the Art Crawl is that it can be approached from all angles: you can hit it from the north, south, east, or west and find a starting point at a venue in the middle of it or on the ends, and then gallivant from there. And then, once embarked amidst it, one can employ a random, electron-like path while visiting among yourselves and with others. The crawlgoers handled this assignment with aplomb. They drank their shares of wine, both red and white, and they fed themselves surprisingly delectable foodstuffs. They constantly moved all about, making downtown into a regular promenade. I’m telling ya’, this was a convivial crowd. And peripatetic!
The entrance to Jackie Kellum’s studio on Main offered a buttery, inviting display for the tourists: giant red and white boxes of popcorn flanking the doorway. Arching majestically over and between them was a rainbow of yellow balloons masquerading (quite well, actually) as kernels of popcorn.
There was more art inside. April Dupuis displayed an array of her signature handcarved, botanical stoneware amid a rash of other iterations of her work. Dupuis’ work station held center attention at the Kellum studio, but it was surrounded by the owner’s curated presentation of her objects of fascination. All were looked upon with glee.
Local thrivers need to take note of The Gallery (which, had I named it, would be The Alley-ery, because proprietor Brad Gordon turned the gnarly alleyway between his place and Cattywampus into something lovely). The art Gordon does and has emboldens a person, and there is a promise there of, yes, conviviality to come. Just wait till you see what conversations you have there.
Leatherwork made its fragrant appearance at Margaret Love’s Wood St. home. Mari Foster’s studio, Blue Melon Rendezvous, brought in a steady crowd who were treated to real guitar work and deft song touches by Kevin Guyer and Kerry O’Donoghue, who enjoy playing together so much that they married each other.
I could go on. There remains, alas, far more to report about the 2026 Art Crawl than I am allowed to reveal. I cannot say more. (The fact that David Howell is threatening to send the paper to the printer if I don’t hand it in is not a factor in the preceding sentence.)
