Port Lavaca Art Walk to feature artists, musicians, dancers

By CJ Vetter
cjvetter@plwave.com

Artists, both amateur and professional, as well as art-enjoyers, have something to look forward to on March 2, as Port Lavaca’s downtown will be hosting a free public art walk. Starting at 1 p.m. and lasting to 6 p.m., visitors will be able to meet more than 20 artists, both local and visiting, while participating in a variety of activities.
Port Lavaca Events Coordinator Tania French collaborated with Crossroads Art House Owner Claire Santellana to bring the event to life. Together, they gathered several different artists across various mediums and styles.
“I spoke with Tania about the event last year, and she was very supportive of the idea,” Santellana said. “You’ll see realism, impressionism, mosaics, cartoon-art, and collage art. We’ll also have some intricate floral art.”
During the event, participants will be able to travel through several main street businesses, where they will be able to meet and interact with artists. In addition, a ballet performance is scheduled to be held alongside live music from 12 different performers stationed throughout the area.
“We’ll have 12 musicians that will be downtown at various street corners, and Texas Traditions will be open for the event so you can grab lunch or a drink,” French said. “We’ll also be doing a ‘chalk the town’, so people can be creative on the sidewalk as well.”
Ballerina, Sarah Mills, will share her talents on canvas at 3 p.m. Dance is Mill’s passion and she enjoys finding new ways to spread her love for dance. She has trained at the Millennium dance complex in Los Angeles, California, Streetz dance convention, Monsters hip hop dance tour, Dance Unlimited in Buda, Texas, and was with a competition company, and competed for 5 years. She is currently teaching hip hop, tap, and assisting acrobatic arts at the Ballet Academy of South Texas. She has also choreographed for a few musicals, and has been a featured dancer in several other musicals. She continues her education in dance and spreading her passion with everyone she meets.
According to Santellana, the event will highlight the work of local artists, while also giving attention to Port Lavaca’s Main Street.
“Community members will be able to visit each business, and if they’re able to make it to every stop, they’ll be included in a drawing for a prize,” Santellana said.  
Santellana said that the event takes inspiration from Victoria’s own art walk events, which in turn was inspired by Colorado Springs.
“When I first moved there, we were very inspired by the first Friday events in Colorado Springs which spread all across downtown. When we moved back to Texas, I approached the city of Victoria about it and was excited to share it with them; it turned into a quarterly event, due to the lack of art galleries, so we had to team up with businesses instead,” Santellana said. “We would love to see everyone out to support the local artists and businesses.”