By Lorenzo Salinas

l.v.salinas@panews.com

 

Business and the arts were booming in the downtown district along Port Neches Avenue Saturday.

The third annual Art Walk on the Avenue drew a crowd as artists from the area and without displayed their work, plied their wares and offered an opportunity to experience something out of the ordinary for Southeast Texans.

Executive director of the Port Neches Chamber of Commerce and one of the people behind the Walk, Debbie Plaia, said it was a special event that almost didn’t happen.

“At first we were going to cancel it because of the storm,” Plaia said, referring to Harvey and the floods it caused. “But then we thought we’d wait three or four days and see… Soon, we (already) had five vendors who wanted to participate.”

Plaia called it a “return to normalcy” that both residents and artists wanted. Thus, the third annual Art Walk was a go.

“It’s eclectic and it has a mixed theme,” Plaia said of the event. “It’s the best way to showcase the (local) art.”

Among the Art Walk’s several offerings, attendees had the opportunity to enjoy arts, crafts, antiques, food trucks and a kid zone for children.

“It brings tourism to the area,” she said. “It gives people the chance to (discover) art who may not have known downtown had this to offer.”

Plaia said the Art Walk has done well in drawing crowds not only from the Southeast Texas area, but also from other areas like Houston. Stressing the “Shop Local” credo of many chambers, she said attendees could shop for local art at the Art Walk and then grab a bite to eat either at one of the food trucks on the scene or at a local restaurant like the Wheelhouse.

One of the vendors, Vickie Russell, said it was her first time selling at the Art Walk, but that she thoroughly enjoyed what she saw so far.

“It’s a great way to get noticed here,” she said, indicating her business Vintage Rose behind her. It held a wide assortment of vintage fineries and clothing—all handmade— ready for interested patrons to purchase.

Next to her, Darla Hernandez of Shug’s, offered what she termed “an eclectic bunch of everything,” from farmhouse to rustic to vintage.

“It’s everything including the kitchen sink,” she said with a laugh.

It was also Hernandez’s first year to sell at the Art Walk, and both she and Russell agreed it was a good turnout despite—or because of—Harvey.

“People just want to forget about Harvey and focus on something positive,” Russell said. “Plus, people may want to replace some stuff they lost here.”

Offering some one-of-a-kind art a little further down the avenue, third-graders Cayley Mercer and McKenzie Coutee were seated at their own stalls with family. Each artist painted and sketched respectively.

Their portraits and sketches stood out clearly even underneath the midday light, with pop-art colors and an attention to composition.

Mercer, 8, said she started painting when she was 3 or 4, and mostly liked to depict animals. Coutee, also 8, said she started sketching at age 2, and mostly liked to draw people.

Both girls, who attend Ridgewood and Woodcrest Elementary, said they didn’t know what started them on the road to creating art; they only knew that it was something they would like to continue in the future.

“I don’t know. I’ve just always been unique, I guess,” Coutee said.