Honoring the Gourd in Mayfield, Kentucky
By Eva F. King
(Published in the American Gourd Magazine, Summer 2008)
Each September the community of Mayfield, Kentucky, pays homage to the humble gourd. Its annual Gourd Patch Festival, sponsored in cooperation with the city of Mayfield, the Mayfield Tourism Commission and the Mayfield/Graves County Art Guild, celebrates the modest cucurbit with a national art exhibition, workshops, gourd vendors and crafters, entertainment, concessions and an exciting gourd racecar derby.
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The focal point of the Gourd Patch Festival is the All About Gourds exhibition held each year at the Mayfield / Graves County Art Guild�s Ice House Gallery. This unique and intriguing show, now in its seventh year, is an exploration of the functional and artistic possibilities of the humble gourd. Since its inception in 2002, All About Gourds has evolved into a national juried show in which gourd artists and crafters compete for $100 cash awards in different categories and a $500 Best of Show award. Twenty-four artists from ten different states were represented in last year�s show. Gourd creations ranged from objects with burned, etched, dyed, carved, and painted surfaces to jewelry and wearables as well as large sculptures and assemblages. The 2007 Best of Show prize was awarded to Ms. Jennifer Zingg of Frankfort, Kentucky, for her sculpture �Hard Letting Go of Mama�. Skillfully executed using a combination of wood burning, painting, and linear carving, Ms. Zingg�s piece portrayed a tearful African mother adorned with delicate wings, embraced by her daughter. The elongated figures stood on a globe on which rested a small broken heart. Wood burned writing on the sculpture�s base described the impact of the AIDS epidemic on mothers and daughters in Africa.
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Festival activities are located around and behind the Ice House Gallery at the corner of North and North 8th Streets in Mayfield. Vendors provide a large selection of gourd types and sizes, while gourd crafters and artists demonstrate their work. An activities tent gives children opportunities to make necklaces and bracelets from gourd pieces that they select, paint and string. Local organizations offer food and drinks for sale.
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The percussion section of nearby Murray State University�s marching band explores the musical versatility of the gourd on Gourd Patch Festival day. Playing only gourd instruments, the band performs at several locations at different times throughout the morning.
A highlight of the festival is the gourd racecar derby, which is organized and implemented by the Mayfield/Graves County Art Guild and the Friendship Homemakers Club. For a small entry fee, participants receive a packet containing axles, wheels, and a base; and then they construct a racecar using only gourds and gourd pieces. Workshops, overseen by the art guild, are held prior to the festival day to assist in construction of the cars. The �gourd-mobiles� are raced down a track during the festival; and first, second and third place prizes are awarded for the fastest cars of the derby.
Other activities for the 2008 Gourd Patch Festival, to be held on September 20th, will include a barbecue cook-off, live blues music, and a hay-bale maze. The day will end with an evening Ghost Walk in Mayfield�s Maplewood Cemetery, which honors some of the Civil War dead who are buried there.
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As a member of the Kentucky Gourd Society and American Gourd Society, the Mayfield/Graves County Art Guild is working to promote interest in and appreciation of gourds in western Kentucky. By providing opportunities to gourd artists and growers, the Ice House Gallery hopes to encourage the creative use of the gourd as an artistic medium and to help preserve the horticulture diversity of the gourd for future generations.
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