On the first full weekend of November, each year, Pensacola gears up for one of the biggest festivals in the Southeast, the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival. There are hundreds of unique vendors in the main section, displaying and selling their art, which can be anything from paintings to chainsaw sculptures to jewelry. The Heritage section is just as rich in diversity as it displays the crafts such as whip making, leather works, and even hand made Alpaca hair accessories. However, when you extend you trip over to Bartram park (just across the street) you will find the largest selection of people dedicated to making children happy that has ever been seen in Pensacola. Amongst all the face paintings, fish prints, and other hands-on activities, you may walk through a line of parents. They aren't just standing there for fun, though. They are waiting in line, some for quite a while, so that they can have an original charcoal portrait of their child or children to hang in the den and show all the neighbors. And beauty of it is......they're free! For three years, soon to be four, Ashley Spears has been sharing her talent with the children on Pensacola for no charge whatsoever. She will continue to play this part as long as she is available, and from here on out will be collecting donations to go toward her scholarship program, which she will use to buy art supplies for a different needy school along the Gulf Coast each year. The 2006 recieving school was Hancock Highschool in Waveland, MS. A huge thank you goes out to all the contributors to the fund this year.
As for the rest of the money that is collected for the scholarship program, that comes from the 5% Ashley has promised from all of her fine art sales and from separate donations from individuals and businesses. Ashley will be at the GGAF again this year on November 3rd, 4th, & 5th, and will be interviewed by Sue Straughn of WEAR 3 Dayside on Friday, the 3rd. Please come out and bring your children, they will have a great time, and you will be supporting a worthy cause. Thank you.