Sports, arts and food lovers will find their fill of events this weekend as tourists descend upon Starkville for Super Bulldog Weekend and the Cotton District Arts Festival.
Fresh off of beating the best team in college baseball, Mississippi State University’s home series against Texas A&M is expected to draw large crowds to Dudy Noble Field. Other sporting events — a softball series against Louisiana State University, a men’s tennis match against Vanderbilt University and the Bulldogs’ annual Maroon and White spring football game — will also provide sports fans with events throughout the weekend.
Saturday’s Cotton District Arts Festival, the city’s capstone cultural showcase, is expected to draw in thousands of visitors and showcase Starkville’s thriving arts, culinary and creative scenes.
Super Bulldog Weekend and the Cotton District Arts Festival both serve as significant economic drivers. Coupled with Starkville Restaurant Week earlier this month, Greater Starkville Development Partnership Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Gregory said the city’s sales tax and 2 percent food and beverage tax receipts for April could see continued growth because of tourism’s impact.
“Super Bulldog Weekend is always such a big weekend in our community, especially when it’s paired with the Cotton District Arts Festival,” she said. “With this baseball weekend being such a huge contest, we anticipate it to be one of the best weekends economically of the spring. Restaurants and hotels will be at capacity.”
SBW schedule
Super Bulldog Weekend events begin with Friday’s Mississippi Pork Producers Sampling of the Grill at 4 p.m. in the parking lot north of the Howell Building. MSU’s men’s tennis team plays the Commodores at 5 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, its softball team opens up its series against the Tigers at 5:30 p.m. at Nusz Park, and the Diamond Dawgs play the Aggies at 6:30 p.m. The 7 p.m. soccer scrimmage at the MSU Soccer Field caps off the day’s events.
Saturday’s arts festival runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. At 9 a.m., judges will pick the best dishes at the on-campus pig cooking event at the Howell Building’s north parking lot. Another grill sampling is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the same location. The Maroon and White spring game kicks off at 11 a.m. at Davis Wade Stadium, while the Bulldogs will begin their second game against Texas A&M at 2 p.m.
Admission to the football scrimmage is free.
The softball game against LSU will conclude the day at 7 p.m.
MSU’s baseball and softball teams will take the field again Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., respectively.
CDAF features juried art, vendors, Taste of Starkville
Saturday’s annual Cotton District Arts Festival will feature a number of events familiar to previous years’ attendees, including the Old Cotton Mill 5k and Family Fun Run; a pet parade; the Artisans’, Childrens’ International and Writers’ villages; a juried art competition and exhibit; the Taste of Starkville culinary showcase; and musical entertainment.
The Artisans Village, which is expected to have more than 100 participating vendors, will feature hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind wares from a number of categories.
Confirmed craftsmen include: jewelry makers Merek and Shelah Dhloughly; ceramic artist Robert Long; artist Joe MacGown and his son, Joseph; painter Frank McGuigan; photographer Jeremy Murdock; and woodworker Robert Sanders, among others.
The event’s juried arts competition will award a number of distinctions, including best ofs in clay, jewelry, painting, photography and graphics, sculpture and other traditional crafts.
The competition features James Davis, a University of West Georgia professor, whose exhibits have been showcased across the South and abroad.
MSU’s Visual Arts Center Gallery, located at 808 University Drive, will host the final exhibit from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
“We have worked very hard to bring another successful Cotton District festival to Starkville,” said CDAF Artisan Village chairman Rosa Otondo in a previous release. “We believe the Starkville community will enjoy this year’s event, as we have a wide range of artists from all over the Southeast.
The arts festival draws crowds upward of 40,000 people each year from across the U.S. It was named a Top 100 Event in North America by the American Bus Association, a Top 20 Event in the Southeast and one of the Top 5 festivals in the state by Mississippi Magazine.
For a complete list of Cotton District Arts Festival events, visit CDAFestival.com. Those interested in volunteering for the event can contact its sponsor, the Starkville Area Arts Council, at 662-324-3080.
For more information on Super Bulldog Weekend and individual sporting events, visit HailState.com/SBW.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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