Artesia, a town of approximately 496 people, likely drew a crowd of more than 13,000 last night at the 15th annual Artesia Days Festival.
Held behind the seven buildings that make up the community’s tiny downtown district, the festival drew over 13,000 people last year and early in the afternoon yesterday, Artesia Clerk Teresa Sanders said she would not be surprised to see 15,000 this year.
“You can imagine a little town bringing in that many people, it really is priceless as far as the economic impact, not only on us but for the surrounding cities, too,” Sanders said. “But really, for us, it brings family and friends back in town. It just about having a great time being with each other.”
The growth Artesia Days has experienced in its 15 years has been an unexpected blessing, but Sanders, who has been involved with the festival since the beginning, said it’s not just people from the Golden Triangle, or even just the state, that look forward to the event.
“We went from the back of flatbed to a real stage with a real sound system,” Sanders said. “It’s a huge family reunion opportunity, too. We have people come in by the bus loads from all over the country.”
Vincent Petty is one of the sojourners.
Now living in Chicago, Petty is at this year’s Artesia Days for the first time in 10 years.
“It has grown so big,” Petty said. “We even have family that came from Cincinnati this year. We came to see our family and friends of course, but we came to go the festival, too.”
Petty’s sister, Stacy Petty, lives in Columbus, and he said despite the heat, he couldn’t miss the chance to visit and attend the festival.
“Man, it’s hot down here, we got a little heat up there, but it’s too hot up here,” he said with a laugh. “I sure do love this Artesia day, though. It’s such a great thing for a small town.”
After living in Artesia for 26 years, Rolanda Brook moved to Columbus five years ago, but said she misses the togetherness that living in Artesia fosters.
“This festival says it,” Brook said. “It’s a small town, but they do big things. We are all family here, all on the same level, all on the same page. This will always be my hometown.”
Even though Sanders, who moved to Artesia after she married, wasn’t born or raised in the community, she still feels at home. She noted Artesia’s togetherness in the same vein as Brook, and said she is looking forward to watching the festival mature.
“We are a town that prays and stays together,” Sanders said. “We can only hope that helps us continue to grow.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.