Dauphin Island is hopping on April 16: Arts and Crafts Festival, Discovery Day, bird migrations and more

View full sizeDauphin Island artist Dena McKee shows one of her paintings. Her focus is on historic landmarks. (Courtesy of Dena McKee)

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Alabama — Dena McKee has been an artist since she was 5 years old, turning out paintings and drawings on a handcrafted wooden easel her grandfather made for her.

“I still have my drawing of ‘Freddie, the Forgotten Frog,’” said McKee. The piece won a first-place ribbon in a third-grade art show, and now, all these years later, McKee, 49, has the piece securely laminated and saved for posterity.

Though art was always her passion, McKee said her family convinced her to earn a college degree in teaching because, they said, “You won’t make any money as an artist.”

She did go for the teacher’s degree, but added art workshops to the education classes, and today, she’s a fulltime artist — and has never taught an elementary school class in her life.

McKee, who divides her residence between Dauphin Island and Pascagoula, is one of the 50 artists and craftsmen who will be exhibiting their works in the ninth annual Dauphin Island Arts and Crafts Show on April 16 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event, sponsored by the Episcopal Church Women of St. Francis Episcopal Church, will be on the grounds of the historic church at 401 Key St. on the Island’s east end.

In a short biographical sketch on her website, www.denamckee.com , McKee describes herself as a Southern artist and historic preservationist who paints to preserve historic landmarks and capture memories.

When she paints, she says, “I want to make people remember a time when there were no worries or stresses, and just for that moment (to) take them back to that place. That is my goal.”

The show has a wide variety of exhibitors this year, said ECW president Mary Porter. In addition to McKee, Island artists include watercolorists Linda and David Miller and sculptor Lawrence Trotter with his waterfowl carvings.

Porter said the out-of-town artists include Sylvia Corban from Pass Christian, Miss., best known for her Barq’s Root Beer paintings, rugs, plates, prints and flags; Steven Butler, artist, cartoonist and caricaturist from Lucedale; Jo Ann Wheeler from Pass Christian, whose paintings are “whimsical and coastal,” Porter said; and Jimmy Stroud from Gautier, with nature photography.

Visitors to the arts and crafts show on April 16 can enjoy chicken-salad sandwiches made by Wimberly Hory, a former caterer from Mobile and now a resident of the Island.

Or, they might pick up a container of frozen gumbo-to-go for which the Episcopal Church Women are noted.

Proceeds from the event benefit Wilmer Hall Children’s Home in Mobile and various projects of the ECW.

Other events

Several other events and activities are going on at the Island on April 16. It’s Discovery Day at Dauphin Island Sea Lab, 101 Bienville Blvd., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Children are admitted to the Estuarium free of charge. For information, call 251-861-2141.

Also, at Fort Gaines Historic Site on the eastern tip of the Island, visitors are invited to “step back in time” to medieval Europe to watch tournament demonstrations hosted by the Society of Creative Anachronism. Call 251-861-6992 for details.

April 16 is also the day of the Alabama Ornithological Society spring meeting to view the spring migration of the many species of birds who rest on the Island before moving on.

All in all, Dauphin Island offers families and individuals a variety of activities for a day of fun in the sun on April 16.

(This story was written by Jo Anne McKnight, Press-Register correspondent.)