By Karah Wilson
karah@southerntorch.com
MENTONE, Ala.—Last Saturday and Sunday were days set aside for the 34th annual Colorfest in Mentone. Colorfest is an arts and music festival hosted on the main strip and Brow Park where vendors can set up their arts and crafts to sell to customers. Vendors are mainly from Alabama, but not limited to others from the southeast.
Colorfest not only has an amazing view for visitors but also captures the eye of fall lovers, master craftsmen, and some of the most interesting vendors you will ever come across in Alabama.
Julie Barkley owns a business called Alabama Living in the Woods. Barkley takes wooden pallets and creates funny and positive messages with paint to sell to her customers.
“I started out making items for myself,” Barkley said. “I never look at something as it is. I look at it as what I can do with it to give it a second life. I crafted over 20 years ago and when my mom passed away, I needed something to occupy my mind. What I enjoyed most about Colorfest was the atmosphere. It’s in a beautiful location and the people were really nice. Everyone was very complimentary and appreciative of the crafts I make.”
Another popular vendor at the festival was Plate Breaker, a business ran by Trisha Kennamer, that makes jewelry out of broken plates. The idea came to Kennamer after cleanup from recent tornadoes. Kennamer spent hours helping pick up and threw away many pieces of plates.
“I picked up a piece from those I helped in hopes of making a stepping stone to remember each one. I never got the stone made, but thought ‘what about fixing it to wear as a necklace?’” Kennamer said. “Once I did, people would ask me where I got it and I told them I made it. So, I made a trip to a thrift store, bought a plate, broke it, and here I am today.”
Camp Creek Creations is ran by couple Steve and Sally Smith. Steve Smith is a recycled bottle artist. “My wife and I have always recycled and I just took note of how many bottles we were throwing away,” Smith said. Glass is hard to recycle and most recycle centers won’t accept it.”I began teaching myself about glass. How to melt, cut, and alter its color. It’s a great resource and because it’s free, I was free to experiment. Now I make mosaics, jewelry, wind chimes, and a variety of others.” This is the Smith’s second Colorfest as a vendor, the first time being three years ago. “We’ve been to art shows all over the southeast, but never with a view like the one we had this weekend. What a beautiful setting for a show!”
Colorfest also hosts a ‘scarecrow holler’ which is when people submit scarecrows they have crafted themselves. This year’s winners were Meranda Febes, first place and people’s choice with Trashy Taylor and Amanda Pope, second place with Se-crow-yah Corn-bet. Winners of the pumpkin patch jubilee are Moonlight Trading Company, first place; Hair at Village, second place; and Mentone Realty, third place.
Colorfest is held the third weekend in Oct. This festival attracts many different types of people from many different types of places. It is one of Mentone’s largest attractions throughout the year and is home to one of the largest arts and crafts attractions in DeKalb County.
