March Gourd Madness

March Gourd Madness a Success

While most of were preparing for Holy Week and Passover, the Alabama Gourd Society in Clanton, Alabama were holding the 4th annual March Gourd Madness show at the Clanton Conference Center.

Joyanna Love of the The Clanton Advertiser has the full story. 

March Gourd Madness

Credit: Joyanna Love/Clanton Advertiser

 

Some of the highlights include Becky Cox-Rodgers teaching attendees how to create a marbleized look on gourds using enamel paints suspended in water.

Enamels and other oil based paints are not soluble in water. That means they will float on water. Using this character of enamel paints can produce very unique designs on water surface which could be transferred to gourds.


Becky was using egg shaped gourds to mimic Easter Eggs, but the technique could be used to decorate larger gourds, and other types of art as well.  Here is a brief tutorial demonstrating the technique on a pot:  Check Amazon for any number of enamel paints – but the ones we listed have the highest Amazon reviews we have been able to locate 4.7 out 5 Stars.

Other demonstrations for the show included, a class taught by Mary Pearson using pine needles to create a decorative trim and Lynn Marino featuring “lace” carving techniques on gourds.

The 2019 March Gourd Madness show has already been scheduled for March 22nd – 23rd  It will be the 5th year of the show.  Questions regarding the show can be sent to Mack Gothard at gothardgourdgarden@gmail.com

If you would like to learn more about gourd festivals check out our Events page.  If you’d like to have your event listed, you can fill out the form, or simply contact us directly.

Gourd Festival Money

How To Get Money For Your Gourd Festival – Part II

How to Get Money for Your Club Part II

Putting on a gourd festival costs money.  In Part I it was revealed that each city and/or municipality creates a specific tax fund generated from hotels in their city.   This fund is commonly known as “lodging tax.”  Some areas may refer to this money as occupancy tax, hotel tax, or something else – going forward we will be referring to this money as lodging tax.  The great thing about lodging tax, is that the money in that fund may only be used for tourist related facilities, marketing, and/or events.Continue reading