Shopping at the Steeples
Twin Steeples Creative Arts Center unveils its inaugural Village Arts Market
This fall, Twin Steeples Creative Arts Center (TSCAC)—Ponchatoula’s newly-opened arts organization and destination—will host its inaugural Village Arts Market, the newest juried arts market in the South. TSCAC is, itself, a work of art composed of two steepled historic churches-cum-galleries—the intimate Gallery 1893 and the majestic Gallery 1901—that were physically moved in 2021 to face each other across an outdoor pavilion surrounded by a garden. The arts center often hosts visual and performing artists.
The market will feature more than fifty vendors of fine arts and crafts. Featured artists include jeweler Betsy Meyers, painters Nancy Susaneck and Loveday Funck, sculptor Rebecca Burt, and woodcarver John Green. There will be live music on three stages during the two-day event—which will also feature favorite area food trucks—Fire King, Louisiana Beignets, Cajun Trinity, and NOLA Mia Pizza.
[Read more about the origins of Twin Steeples Arts Center in our story from December 2021 here.]
The arts market is the brainchild of Lee Barends, a board member responsible for booking the center’s regular musical happenings. The idea was enthusiastically embraced by community members and the board.
“We want our Village Arts Market to be a mini Three Rivers Festival (held annually in Covington) and hope each year it will build,” said TSCAC Board President Kim Howes Zabbia. “Ponchatoula already has a reputation for treating its artists like royalty, so we think on that end, we’ll be super successful.”
TSCAC is still accepting applications from artists and craftspeople. “We want the real thing,” said TSCAC Executive Director Erin Wallace.
The Twin Steeples Village Arts Market will be open Friday, September 30 from noon–5 pm and Saturday, October 1 from 9 am–5 pm. Admission is free. twinsteeples.org.