It was a Sunday at Central Park with art and live music

The Homewood Arts Council again hosted two popular local events on the same day, Sunday, October 15. at Central Park.

The park was the site of Pickin’ in the Park and Handmade Art Show on a warm, sunny day, all under the Sunday in the Park umbrella, with some food trucks and other food vendors also on hand.

This is the second year the organization has combined the events. “Art and live music go great together,” Arts Council president Diane Litsey said recently.

About 30 artists were expected to take part in the Handmade Art Show, which has been held for more than 20 years, according to Litsey.

Items for sale included jewelry, clothing, leather, paintings, pottery and stained glass.

Pickin’ in the Park -- organized by avid musician and Homewood merchant Bob Tedrow -- allows professional and amateur musicians to play together all over the park, entertaining themselves and other attendees.  

And the art show was a chance for residents to meet and support local artists.

Nancy Abney, maker of recycled and upcycled garments made from vintage fabric was selling at the event for the second year.

“It’s good family fun at the park, a chance for Homewood residents to enjoy local arts and music and a chance to shop local,” she said.

A Birmingham resident, Abney that she enjoys meeting customers and telling them about her work.

“I work with vintage fabrics, and each textile has its own story,” she said. “People who buy local art want to know the story behind it.”

Artist Celeste Amparo Pfau -- in her first year at Handmade Art Show -- was showing her botanical monoprints, as well as other works on paper and some clothing, including shawls and scarves

“The best part of doing this, more than just selling my work, is meeting people I normally would not meet,” Pfau said. “That nourishes my creative energy and helps me figure out what I want to do next with my own artwork.”

Some professional musicians were on hand to play and interact with attendees at Pickin’ in the Park, and the event is intended to have an intimate, personal feel, according to Tedrow.

“You can sit right next to some good players and watch them play,” he said recently..

The intimate, participatory feel of Pickin’ in the Park makes the event “a kind of a throwback” to an area before TV and radio when people had to entertain themselves, according to Tedrow.

“It just has a charming, old-school appeal to do a festival like this where people are not being served,” he said. “They are a part of it.”

The musicians played almost constantly during the event, both in a tent set up in the middle of the park and at the main stage.

Most of the music had a throwback feel, as well, with lots of old country and gospel songs, including the classic Come Fly Away, and such old pop hits as Stand by Me, Wonderful World and Love Me Tender.

Some of the attendees who brought their own instruments to the event were members of the Birmingham Ukulele Society and some other ukulele clubs in North Alabama

Kirk Webb, a ukulele player from Huntsville, said he most enjoyed the interaction with the other musicians at the festival.

“I think the best part of meeting new people and learning new songs,” he said, adding that he enjoys “sharing things back and forth.”