Spend an artsy summer evening

Folks looking for something fun to do Friday evening can both break the summer doldrums and kick off the weekend by looking no further than the gazebo in front of the courthouse. From 6 ’til after 9 p.m., Courthouse Terrace will be jumping with live music and visual arts.

“Come on down, have an early dinner at a great local restaurant, see the art, hear the music and have a wonderful evening on Main Street,” encouraged Rae Schwartz, one of the event organizers.

The Okaloosa Arts Alliance-North and the Main Street Crestview Association have teamed up to present Music & Arts on Main Street, an evening festival of visual and musical arts showcasing the diversity of talent available in north Okaloosa County. Several area restaurants will be offering dinner specials during the evening.

Many of the visual and performing artists have collaborated to present “art opportunities” for the visiting public. Raffle tickets will buy you a chance to take home a great piece of art to enhance your home or office.

Among exhibitors will be Evelyn and Julius Waters. Evelyn has enjoyed painting for many years (“Don’t ask how many,” she jokingly ordered) and Julius carves waterfowl decoys.

“Expanding into water colors opened an exciting area that allows the merger of my love of nature and the enjoyment of artistic endeavors,” Evelyn said. Her oils and acrylics concentrate on natural settings that are within a one-hour drive of Crestview.

Julius Waters is a master gunsmith who enjoyed hunting with his wife. Hunting led to carving his own working decoys which has evolved into decorative waterfowl. 

Art often runs in a family. Black light artist Michael Schwartz, whose mom, Rae Schwartz, is chairwoman of the OAA-N, will exhibit his multi-colored swirls of imagination. Creative as they are by daylight, under a black light they assume an entirely different appearance.

Another husband and wife team, Charles and Darlene Samuel, will delight both the eye and the ear. Charles plays traditional and Celtic fiddle, having been a band director for 32 years before retiring in June. He has played in several bluegrass bands, performs with Southern Sound, and is a past president of the Gulf Coast Bluegrass Music Association. 

In addition to extreme beading, Darlene Samuel is a fiber artist working with art dolls and needle felting. She teaches workshops on beading, polymer clay, and doll making and has won awards for her dolls and beaded jewelry. 

“Lately my focus has been on the tradition of doll making, using cotton, wool and in the interest of going green, recycled scraps,” Darlene said. “I often dye my own fibers to achieve the bright colors that I adore.  I also use socks to create fun creatures.  My dolls are whimsical and light hearted.  Recently, I have added needle felting to my doll making skills.”

Joining these and other artists, photographers and musicians will be student artists, who benefit from OAA-N events as they afford the opportunity to mingle with and learn from experienced older artists. Among the student exhibitors, Daniel Reid, a Crestview High junior this fall, will show his skillful pen-and-ink and pencil sketches, many of which capture the animal world in exquisite detail.

The evening’s live musical entertainment kicks off with Mack Brooks, the Main Street fiddler and barber, who has been a downtown institution for decades and has performed at the Grand Ol’ Opry. The Wesley Boys, the gospel close-harmony quartet, will sing selections that will be included in their shortly-to-be-released first CD.

Middle schooler Jenna Renee, who dazzled the Chamber of Commerce with her rendition of the national anthem at its recent installation dinner, will demonstrate her vocal prowess (inherited, perhaps, from her grandmother, jazz vocalist Cheryl Daggs).

Walker Sherman of Crestview Music Lessons, and friends including Eric Melvin, familiar to many as the friendly host at the Wild Olive Restaurant, and Savannah Kirkpatrick will showcase their acoustic and vocal talents, singing a mixture of favorite pop standards, “indi/folk/Americana” and original compositions.

“My wife Amanda and I and Mosaic Church love Jesus, Crestview, and good art,” said Walker Sherman. “We are all about bringing these three things together for the good of all.”

Summers in Crestview may be hot. But the music and art awaiting on Main Street this Friday will be oh-so-cool. Come check it out.