Gum Tree Festival pushes on despite wet weather

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI)- For nearly a half a century the Gum Tree Festival in downtown Tupelo has been a major event in the community.

For the first time in its 48 year history, the Gum Tree Festival was moved indoors to the Bancorp South Arena.

Organizers decided that with all the rain in recent days it would have been tough on both the artists and those in attendance to hold it outdoors.

The crowds really responded as attendance may have been even higher than normal in the morning.

Festival director Kit Stafford said there is one advantage for art shoppers having things inside; they can see what their prospect piece of art will look like at home

“Outdoors you have kind of glaring sunlight and all those things. Sometimes outdoors can be absolutely lovely when everything is perfect. This is a controlled environment, and that’s kind of nice way to do artwork,” said Stafford.

Stafford said she will wait to hear feedback from the community before deciding whether to take the Gum Tree indoors next year and beyond.

She said there is something about the tradition of having the event outdoors. It was fortunate that this year there were no other scheduled events, so the Bancorp South Arena was available.

Categories: Local News

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