cbellamy@heraldsun.com; 419-6744
DURHAM -- Lucas Childress of the High Strung music store showed Ian Farmer of Richmond, Va., some chords on ukulele. After a few minutes of instruction and practice, Childress and Farmer were playing several chords together on their instruments.
"He just showed me some chords, and I already have it down," Farmer, 14, said, and demonstrated the chords G, C7, C and F. Farmer also tried out some of High Strung's violins that were available at the store's instrument "petting zoo" that allows people to try out instruments.
Childress and Amy Campbell were supervising the booth, one of many attractions at the first Arts on the Plaza, held Saturday at Northgate Mall. Campbell also helped paint some old violins bright colors to draw attention to the booth.
"It's kind of a relationship thing, to get them comfortable with touching a violin or guitar," Childress said of the booth.
More than 40 arts and crafts vendors, along with musicians and other performing artists, were on hand for the fundraiser for the new Durham Arts Council clay studio that opened in the Plaza in April.
Farmer came to the festival with his father, guitarist and song writer Kirk Farmer, who along with Tom Voorheis of Raleigh performed at the festival as a duo. The younger Farmer said he had taken violin, viola, bass and other string instruments in school, but that he likes to play by ear. He said he probably gets his musical ability from his father, with whom he wrote a song the night before.
Music was not the only activity at the festival. Gerrid Hicks, 12, rode the Wild West Bull Ride. He came with his grandmother Sharon Hicks, who planned to introduce him to Morrisville-based harpist Winifred Garrett, who also was one of the performers at the event. Her grandson plans to start taking lessons on harp, and she came to the festival to introduce Gerrid to the teacher, Sharon Hicks said.
Gayle Claris was getting a custom henna tattoo from Krishna Priya Dasi, of Hillsborough-based Krishna's Henna Tattoos.
Other visitors came to get a first look at the new clay studio, which moved in April from its former home in Liberty Warehouse. Arts on the Plaza was a fundraiser to help retire some of the costs of moving and building the new studio. Several visitors commented on the openness and good lighting in the new studio.
Lauren Hawkins of Cary said she took a pottery class in high school and was thinking of taking a class at the studio. "It's great there's something like this that everyone can do at a reasonable cost," Hawkins said.
Northgate rents the space for the clay studio to the Durham Arts Council at below-market rates, and both organizations teamed up for Arts on the Plaza. Organizers want to make the market and festival an annual event.
Helen and Mike Seebold of Cary-based Little Flower Artisan were selling their pottery, and praised the mall and Arts Council for being well organized. The success of the market for them depends on traffic, Mike Seebold said. Helen Seebold has previously sold at similar events in University Mall in Chapel Hill and had good success. "I had good expectations for this," she said.
Gopal Cohen of Krishna's Henna Tatoos pointed to the fountain, the attractions and the shopping as good draws for the festival. "What's not to love about this," Cohen said. "It's a fantastic idea. I'm surprised no one thought about it before now."
He hopes the mall and Arts Council will make the festival an annual event. "If they know about it, people will come here," Cohen said. "If we just break even, we'll still come back next year," he said.
