Cotton South Fine Arts Festival
More than 120 artists descend on Madison, Georgia next weekend.
On a trip to the charming town of Madison earlier this year, I was treated to wine and cheese at Heritage Hall, called the “Antebellum Dame” of Madison, a horsedrawn carriage ride through the historic district (the second-largest in the state) and farm-to-table dinner and concert at Town Park. Described before the Civil War as “the most cultured and aristocratic town on the stagecoach route from Charleston to New Orleans,” Madison is a national treasure of antebellum architecture and a tribute to the time when cotton was king.
That’s why it’s fitting for the town’s inaugural arts festival to be named Cotton South. The first of its kind in the Lake Country region and scheduled for September 28-29, the festival will bring more than 120 artists to downtown, with 23 categories of works featured. Tents will display everything from oils, pastels and watercolors to sculpture, ceramics, jewelry and metalwork in a gallery-like setting.
Nationally and regionally renowned artists like Anne London, Jean Yao, Frank Strunk III and Thomas Lott will travel to Madison for the first time, while artists like Aaron Hequembourg of Monticello, Peggy Martin of Buckhead, Len Jagoda of Waverly Hall and and Charles Pinckney of Athens already call Georgia home.
A wine preview reception will be held on Friday evening, with the festival running from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Jefferson Street and Town Park. A one-time admission fee is $10, and children under 12 get in free.
