Every spring and fall, the Pittsburg Art Council takes over a section of downtown Broadway Street to bring the community together and peruse the art of local artists. This year’s Spring Art Walk was on Saturday, April 18.
Pittsburg, KS has a tight-knit community and maintains it by hosting community events to bring everyone together. One of the biggest of those events is the Art Walk. This year was a big year as it is the 150th anniversary of Pittsburg’s founding, and the 20th anniversary of the Art Walk.
To celebrate those big anniversaries, there was a paint by number interactive wall mural. “There’s an interactive mural, so the community gets to a little piece of history that will be on the walls for a while,” according to Heather Horton, co-owner of TOAST, a co-founder of the Pittsburg Arts Council, and co-founder of the Art Walk.
Art Walk is all about supporting and highlighting small local artists. “We are mindful about what businesses we allow in… we try to focus on small local businesses, support the artists, and try to highlight what Pittsburg already has,” Horton said.
Not only are artists invited to bring their wares, but local organizations, food stands, and food trucks are too. “We have a woman from Saudi Arabia, she is serving at TOAST… we have Tumi serving Peruvian food, taco trucks, and hamburgers,” Horton said.
Makinzie Cummings is a senior studying studio arts at Pittsburg State University and had a booth at the walk alongside her clas alongside her clas. According to her, the event went well, with people able to add new art to their collections. “It’s good seeing everyone come together, seeing things, and possibly gathering up some new treasures.”
One of the many performers there was Alora Spencer. She is a student at The University of Kansas in her sophomore year studying community health and was at Art Walk showing off her stilt walking skills. Her hometown is Pittsburg and she wanted to bring those whimsical talents back home. “I had started to train my circus skills a few years ago and moved up to Kansas City, and I figured I would bring all those talents back home to the Art Walk.”
Jacqueline Johnson is a performer and owner of SEK Princesses, one of the groups at Art Walk. They had several activities available at their booth for everyone to enjoy. “We have princess royal updos where you can get a tiara, hair in a bun, and pixie dust… a fairy [from] Cutie Patootie Paint Parties who collaborated with for face paint, and then we have create your own crowns and temporary tattoos,” available at their booth according to Johnson. Many people, children, and adults alike, had fun with some Disney characters in the spring weather.
Goldie Prelogar-Hernandez is a professor at the University and teaches Family and Consumer Sciences. “I’ve been coming to the Art Walk since it started, so it’s just kind of tradition [to come] … [but] with Little Balkans being gone, it’s nice to have some community events that are family friendly,” Prelogar said. With Little Balkans Days no longer continuing, community events like the Art Walk will be more important in the coming years.