Streets will close and the downtown area will fill with artistsand musicians Saturday for the first Brookhaven Art Walk.

Brookhaven Arts Council President Celeste Lowery said the event- which will be held along Railroad Avenue Saturday from 5 p.m. to8 p.m. – will feature live music, art demonstrations, children’sart and an art auction. The art walk, which she hopes will growinto an annual event, is being held to raise awareness andappreciation for the city’s local artists as part of the city’ssesquicentennial celebration.

“We have all kinds of local talent here, and it really is neverseen,” Lowery said. “We’re having the art walk to bring theseartists together and have a family-oriented event to showcase ourlocal art to the public.”

Lowery said the idea for the art walk stems from her past. Shesaid the only thing she misses about her homeplace of Pensacola,Fla., was the numerous outdoor festivals and art shows.

“We don’t really have anything like that in Brookhaven now,” shesaid. “I hope this event gets people excited about the community’slocal artists, and that it blossoms into a really great, big artsfestival.”

As this is the first art walk held in Brookhaven, Lowery saidshe has no idea what to expect in terms of reaction from thepublic. She is confident, however, that she and the arts councilhave assembled the necessary attractions to make the eventsuccessful.

Local musicians performing styles ranging from country to jazzto Christian will be playing throughout the festival on threedifferent stages. Local talent such as Louis Burghard, JohnnyRainer, Billy Coleman and Tyler Bridge will take the stages alone,though Lowery said she expects full band accompaniment toward theend of the festival. Performers are playing alone to ensure that”they don’t blow everyone away” with sound, Lowery said.

“The three different music stations are around downtown … it’sa walk-around thing,” she said. “It’s like what you would see inNew Orleans, different musicians on different street corners. Wewanted to preserve that Jackson Square festival feeling.”

Several local artists will be featuring their work at the artwalk, and some of those artists will be giving demonstrations – alive, step-by-step painting from scratch. Lowery said thedemonstrators would be painting the scenery around the art walk asthe festival develops throughout the evening.

Tomas “War Cloud” Bandaries, a local Native American artist andsculptor, will auction off some of his hand-carved statuettes, withthe proceeds donated to the Brookhaven Trust. One of the pieces,”Colby’s Colt,” was crafted to commemorate 10-year-old ColbyBarrett, a cancer survivor who visited Brookhaven two weeks ago topreside over the Mississippi Gran Prix bicycle race, Lowerysaid.

Bandaries’ auction may very well ensure the festival’s successon a financial level.

“Everyone who is performing is doing so for free – the festivalis being put on at a very low cost,” Lowery said.

The Brookhaven Art Walk has something for the children aswell.

Several free children’s activities, such as face painting, spinart, sidewalk chalk drawings and rock painting will be held infront of Just Kiddin’. Children’s art will also decorate thefestival’s perimeter, as the art of more than 600 kindergartners,first- and second-graders will be displayed in the front windows ofdowntown businesses.

Of course, there will also be at least one event at the art walkthat is not for children – a beard competition. Competitionorganizer Mark Steitenroth said the facial fluff contest will beginat 6 p.m. in front of the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber ofCommerce.

“We’ve got some prizes lined up for the winner, and a prize forthe wife of the winner – for putting up with that old beard,” hesaid.

Steitenroth is hoping for a good turnout at the beardcompetition, which will be judged by Brookhaven Barber Shop.Beard-sporting gentlemen attending the art walk can sign up for thebeard competition as the festival begins at 5 p.m.

Admission to the Brookhaven Art Walk is free. Janie’s Bakery andMitchell’s will be vending food at the event, and Drew’s CoffeeShop – where photography exhibits from the Mississippi School ofthe Arts will be on display – will extend its hours.