Take 5: Unique aspects about the Mississippi Gulf Coast

1. Barq’s Root Beer was invented in Biloxi by Edward Charles Edmond Barq Sr. He bottled his first root beer in 1872, according to the company's website.

2. Space travel begins in Mississippi. NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center in Waveland is NASA's largest rocket engine test facility. 

3. The Biloxi Lighthouse is the only U.S. lighthouse located in the middle of a two-lane highway.

  

4. The Pascagoula River is the largest free-flowing river in the lower 48 states.

  

5. Jimmy Buffett was born in Pascagoula and you can view his first home and the bridge that’s now dedicated to him. 

Weird, Wacky and Wild South is written by travel and food writer Chere Dastugue Coen, who loves the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Fridamania hits the Mississippi Gulf Coast

Photos by Ellis Anderson, The Shoofly Magazine

Frida Kahlo, a magical realist Mexican painter whose vibrant artwork defined a nation, inspired women and influenced fashion, has become a role model for artists, political activists and just those wanting to dress up and have a good time. And Fridamania has spread to the Mississippi Gulf Coast where the annual Frida Fest happens every summer in Bay St. Louis.

The fourth annual Frida Fest coincides with the city’s Second Saturday ArtWalk from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 14, 2018, in Old Town Bay St. Louis. There will be a Frida-look-alike contest, a Mariachi photo booth, gallery openings, face painting, tapas, pinatas and more! Want to see last year’s fun? Click here.

Here are some of the highlights of this year’s Frida Fest:

11 a.m.-6 p.m.: Taco Extravaganza at the Starfish Café, 211 Main St. (run by the PNEUMA-Winds of Hope organization dedicated to training adults in the culinary arts and life skills)

2 p.m.: Connie Bourgeois will help participants get “Frida-fied” with braids, brows and Frida makeup in the grassy area across from Smith & Lens at 106 S 2nd St.

3 p.m.: Piñata contest at Century Hall, 112 S. Second St.

4-8 p.m.: Free wine tasting at Bodega Spirts Liquor/Parrot Head Grill, 111 Court St.

4:30 p.m. Salsa tasting contest at Century Hall, 112 S. Second St.

Make your own little Casa Azul or decorate maracas with The Arts, Hancock County. Create a Frida Kahlo inspired self-portrait at the Main Street Methodist Church on the corner of Main and 2nd Street.

5 p.m.: Blue Magnolia will perform at the Mockingbird Cafe, 110 S. 2nd St.

5-7 p.m. Frida photos with Glitter the Goat at Social Chair, 201 Main St.

The Mexican Consulate in New Orleans will offer free Spanish books and tourism information.

5:30 p.m.: Loteria with Lugo on the patio at Smith & Lens, 106 S. 2nd St.

5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. NOHA traditional dancers with Cesar & Julio Mariachi and Skinz n Bonez and Bay Ratz Marching Battery -- roaming and entertaining Old Town.

7:30: Frida Be You and Me look-alike contest with celebrity emcees Desiree Ontiveros and Kookie Baker and celebrity judges Lathsky Gitana and The Traveler Broads, Maloney and Fender. Registration for this event will be from 5 p.m. to 7p.m.

Don’t forget that this is the monthly ArtWalk so galleries and other businesses will be open and offering discounts, new artwork, refreshments and more. There’s also the 5th annual poker run benefiting CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) beginning at 10 a.m. 

Want to read more about Bay St. Louis, one of our favorite Southern towns? Click here.

Weird, Wacky and Wild South is written by travel and food writer Chere Dastugue Coen, who loves a creative Southern festival.

Mad Potter of Biloxi and Frank Gehry 'Pods'

             Pods have landed on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and although they may resemble something from outer space, these buildings are the work of prize-winning architect Frank Gehry, known for the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, among so many other beautiful creations.

            Gehry designed the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, which celebrates the ceramic works of George Ohr, known as the “Mad Potter of Biloxi.” Ohr wasn’t as crazy as he was an excellent marketer; his reputation helped sell his innovative and experimental ceramics, according to museum curator Barbara Johnson Ross. In addition to Ohr’s unique works are buildings hosting visiting artists; the City of Biloxi Center for Ceramics, which offers art classes; the Mississippi Sound Welcome Center; the Pleasant Reed Interpretive Center in a reconstruction of a 19th century home (the original was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina) and the Creel House Neighborhood Center.

            But the complex of buildings, including the “Pods,” is an exhibit on to itself. Gehry believed the Ohr Museum should conform to its environment, merging with the century old live oaks. He called the museum complex, “Dancing with the Trees.” The Mississippi Sound Welcome Center, for instance, includes an overlook nestled within the oaks but with a stunning view of the Gulf of Mexico.
            What grabs visitors’ attention the most, however, is the Knight Gallery, otherwise known as the “Pods.” They are still under construction (and renovation due to Katrina) but one will open this July with a permanent exhibit of Ohr’s work.