Mississippi Gourd Society
Psi Chapter of the American Gourd Society
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Updated on May 22, 2013. A few changes to festival gourdcrafting classes and a note on home page. MT
The objectives of the Mississippi Gourd Society are to promote the culture and crafting
of gourds, to provide informational and educational services to its members, to have all
members involved in the promotion of gourds and gourd crafting, and to provide an
annual show for the promotion of gourds, gourd crafting, the sharing of ideas, and
general fellowship with other members. We hope you'll join us in this effort, both here in
Mississippi and in other areas of the country. We're all gourdheads, no matter where we are!
Mississippi Gourd Society is a non-profit organization.
of gourds, to provide informational and educational services to its members, to have all
members involved in the promotion of gourds and gourd crafting, and to provide an
annual show for the promotion of gourds, gourd crafting, the sharing of ideas, and
general fellowship with other members. We hope you'll join us in this effort, both here in
Mississippi and in other areas of the country. We're all gourdheads, no matter where we are!
Mississippi Gourd Society is a non-profit organization.
Would you like to become a member of Mississippi Gourd Society?
Annual dues are $12 for individual or family membership. We publish two newsletters per year.
Please visit the Membership page for more info.
Click on file for a membership application/renewal form: member_form2.pdf
41.6 KB
Would you like to place an ad for gourds or gourd-related items in our newsletter?
We publish a newsletter in January and July. Click on file for an ad form: Newsletter_Ad_Form2013.pdf
19.5 KB
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4th Annual Mississippi Gourd Festival
MSGS
members met at the home of Mike and Michelle Thompson on February 16,
2013, to begin preparation for the Fourth Annual Mississippi Gourd
Festival. After serving as show chair for three years, Michelle has
resigned. Thanks to Paul Grubbs for stepping up to the
plate and volunteering for the job. Let's give him our full support. Some of you know Paul from his Shivers Gourd Festival, which he has chosen not to have this year. His email is paulsgrubbs@gmail.com and cell phone number is 601-260-4230.
As we went over a list of festival essentials, we had several members to volunteer for one or more jobs. There is still a great need for more volunteers. Some members are loaded down with festival-related jobs. Please contact Paul if you'd like to volunteer.
We agreed to keep the festival schedule the same as last year. The festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, 2013. We'll have classes on both days and the bonus early-bird classes on Friday afternoon, September 20. Festival hours are 8-5 on Saturday and 10-4 on Sunday.
May 20, 2013: Classes have been posted! Check them out on the Festival Class Schedule page. See something you like? Watch website for info on class registration.
May 22, 2013: Another class added on Friday's schedule! Notice change in class fee on all classes. First amount is the fee to pay to the teacher in class. The second fee is the non-refundable $5 MSGS registration fee, payable upon registration. The same $5 fee has been included in the class fee the past two years. I decided to separate the two fees on this year's listings. No $10 deposit per class this year--only the $5 registration fee per class--to hold your space in class. More info later on class registration. Festival Class Schedule
Michelle Thompson
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As we went over a list of festival essentials, we had several members to volunteer for one or more jobs. There is still a great need for more volunteers. Some members are loaded down with festival-related jobs. Please contact Paul if you'd like to volunteer.
We agreed to keep the festival schedule the same as last year. The festival will be held on Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, 2013. We'll have classes on both days and the bonus early-bird classes on Friday afternoon, September 20. Festival hours are 8-5 on Saturday and 10-4 on Sunday.
May 20, 2013: Classes have been posted! Check them out on the Festival Class Schedule page. See something you like? Watch website for info on class registration.
May 22, 2013: Another class added on Friday's schedule! Notice change in class fee on all classes. First amount is the fee to pay to the teacher in class. The second fee is the non-refundable $5 MSGS registration fee, payable upon registration. The same $5 fee has been included in the class fee the past two years. I decided to separate the two fees on this year's listings. No $10 deposit per class this year--only the $5 registration fee per class--to hold your space in class. More info later on class registration. Festival Class Schedule
Michelle Thompson
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Walt Grayson in Raleigh!
WLBT's Walt Grayson met with Mississippi Gourd Society members at the Smith County Ag Complex in Raleigh, MS, on August 22, 2012, to shoot a story on the upcoming Mississippi Gourd Festival. MSGS members brought gourds for display and demonstrated gourdcrafting techniques. Pictured at left is Walt with Ken McPhail of Prentiss, MS. Ken made a special gourd bowl for Walt and presented it to him. Thanks, Walt! Check out the "Look Around Mississippi" story and video which aired on WLBT Channel 3, Jackson, MS. http://www.wlbt.com/story/19550920/raleigh,
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FESTIVAL PUBLICITY
IN THE COLUMBUS PACKET
Sarah Wilson of The Columbus Packet came to the 2012 festival and did a great article with pictures. Thanks, Sarah! Click on the link to check out her story: http://packet-media.com/2012/09/20/the-mississippi-gourd-festival/
Photo by Sarah Wilson.
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UPCOMING GOURD EVENTS
May 30-June 2, 2013 11th Annual Gourd Artists Gathering, "Gourd Like an Egyptian," Cherokee, NC. www.gourdgathering.net
September 20-22, 2013 4th Annual Mississippi Gourd Festival, Smith County Ag Complex, Raleigh, MS. Festival and classes on the 21st and 22nd, with early-bird classes on the 20th. www.mississippigourdsociety.org
September 28-29, 2013 Gourdfest 2013, Kiwanis Building, Kiwanis Fairground, Griffin, GA. www.georgiagourdsociety.com
October 18-20, 2013 Lone Star Gourd Festival, Pioneer Museum Grounds, Fredericksburg, TX. www.texasgourdsociety.org
October 19-20, 2013 Alabama Gourd Show, "Gourding in a Winter Wonderland," Cullman Civic Center, Cullman, AL. www.alabamagourdsociety.org
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PAST FESTIVALS...
THIRD ANNUAL MISSISSIPPI GOURD FESTIVAL--2012
The 3rd Annual Mississippi Gourd Festival was a success! Attendance was down a bit, but the number of students was up--136 students! Sheila and Dimple, two of Georgie Foster's happy students, are pictured. We had a wonderful selection of vendors, teachers, and classes. A big thank you to some special volunteers: Bettie Norwood, Fred Wood, and Taylorsville Garden Club members! They pitched in to help Mississippi Gourd Society members. Thank you to each person who helped make the festival a success.
Jason Smith played his handcrafted gourd banjos during the festival. You can listen to Jason playing Sunflower Dance here...
THIRD ANNUAL SHIVERS GOURD FESTIVALThe Third Annual Shivers Gourd Festival was held in Shivers, MS, on Saturday, May 12, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. While we weren't under a heat advisory like last year, this year we had rain off and on all day, some of it very heavy at times. However, those who made it out to the Festival were treated to gourd vendors, good music, and great food. Venders were Mike and Michelle Thompson, Georgie Foster and Christa Enslin, Ken and Diane McPhail, and Amanda Jones and Steve and Edwina Goff of Southern Gourds. If anybody managed to get some pictures in between rain showers, please let us know so we can include them in a gallery.
You may view pictures taken at the 2nd Annual Shivers Gourd Festival by Susan Byra on the lower part of the Festival Pictures page. Please be patient while the pictures load. This photo was taken at the 2nd Annual Shivers Gourd Festival. It features a gourd vase, flowers and butterflies made with gourd pieces, and willow flowers by Martha Ertle and a blue St. Nick gourd by Georgie Foster.
2011 A Colorful, Fun Festival...Late 2011: As Show Chair, I have been busy preparing for the festival and updating the website to keep everyone posted. Now the festival is over and we're changing gears. Gourd festivals are quite unique and lots of fun. If you weren't there, you missed a treat! The Second Annual Mississippi Gourd Festival was a huge success. It was held at the Smith County Ag Complex in Raleigh, MS, Sept. 17-18, 2011. The weather was beautiful and it was nice and cool inside the Ag Complex. While vendors were setting up on Friday, students got an early start by attending early-bird classes. More classes were offered on Sat. and Sun.--a total of 18 classes over the weekend and a total of 105 students. We had Make It, Take It gourd projects for adults and children--Lots of beautiful crafted gourds to admire and buy--A huge variety of cleaned, dried gourds for your own gourd creations--Gourd banjos made and played by artisan, Jason Smith-- Tools and supplies--Great food prepared and served by the Smith County MHV, aka "Homemakers". The list could go on and on.
We had some excellent instructors. Let us know what kind of classes you'd like to take next year. If you took a class this year and didn't fill out a class evaluation form, we'd love to hear from you. Honest feedback from students is crucial in selecting classes and instructors. Students, we'd love to see your class projects on our Mississippi Gourd Society Facebook page. Please include the name of the class and the instructor's name. I think people will be amazed at what can be done in a single gourdcrafting class at the festival. I'll keep the classes on the website a bit longer so they can be referred to after others see your beautiful class gourds!
We owe a huge thanks to our hard-working Mississippi Gourd Society members and the precious volunteers that pitched in to help. THANKS EVER SO MUCH! Volunteer and friend, Bettie Norwood, showed up on Saturday morning and I put her to work in the Make It, Take It booth. She had to learn and teach spirelli brooches (pins) at the same time and she was great! She caught right on. She begged to work there again the next day. That was music to my ears. She came back armed with some embellishments she'd gathered at home to share. It takes a lot of dedicated people and teamwork to pull off an event like this.
Thanks to all of you who came to the festival. We appreciated your sharing your time with us. Let us know what we can do to make the festival better for you next year. Come back to see us and bring some friends!
Thanks to Charlotte Graham with Laurel Leader-Call, The Post at Taylorsville, Susan Marquez, and Feather Graphics Web Design for sharing their excellent photos and articles. Check out these links: http://leadercall.com/local/x478402788/Out-of-their-gourd , Susan's blog, www.susanmarquez.blogspot.com, (The name of the blogpost is "Are You Out of Your Gourd???" and it was posted on Sept. 20, 2011), and www.facebook.com/featherde
See you next year at the Third Annual Mississippi Gourd Festival--3rd weekend in September, 2012, Smith County Ag Complex, Raleigh, Mississippi!
Michelle Thompson, Show Chair, 2011 Mississippi Gourd Festival
miketom1950@yahoo.com
Pictured in this article:
Miriam Joy's colorful booth at the festival.
Gourd vase and gourd flowers by Martha Ertle.
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Partial Listing of Publicity, 2012: Mention of the Mississippi Gourd Festival has been announced in the following publications: Mississippi Farm Country, Mississippi Gardener Magazine, Today in Mississippi, Mississippi Market Bulletin, Impact, Smith County Reformer, and The Gourd Magazine. Listing on numerous websites and social media. Radio and TV announcements.
Publicity, 2011: Mention of the Mississippi Gourd Festival has been announced in the following publications: Southern Living, Mississippi Farm Country, Mississippi Magazine, Today in Mississippi, Mississippi Market Bulletin, Impact, Laurel Leader-Call, Smith County Reformer, The Post (Taylorsville, MS), and The Gourd Magazine. This is a partial listing. Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about the Mississippi Gourd Festival.
Glynda Phillips of Mississippi Farm Country interviewed MSGS members, Paul Grubbs and Mike and Michelle Thompson. Mississippi Farm Country is published by Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation. Thanks to Glynda for a job well done! You may view the articles about growing and crafting gourds in the Sept./Oct. 2011 issue by clicking on this link: http://www.msfb.org/news/farm%20country.aspx
Our President, Susan Byra, was a guest on Felder Rushing's Gestalt Gardener radio program, WLBT's Midday Mississippi in Jackson, and Good Morning Meridian on WTOK. Felder joined us at the festival on Saturday and Sunday!
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Gourd Identification Charts
Visit The Gourd Reserve's website to see
Dan Dunkin's gourd identification chart http://www.thegourdreserve.com/tgr_gourd_id_chart.html
and Timothy Moyer's gourd identification chart http://www.thegourdreserve.com/tim_moyers_gourd_chart.html
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Be sure to visit the American Gourd Society's website.
Lots of great information!
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