Open Mic Night
This year Valentine’s Day falls on a Thursday which is the same day of the week that Rob Robinson hosts Open Mic Night at his store Puckett’s in Leiper’s Fork. Likewise, the Mississippi native likes to celebrate his roots that same night with a genuine Cajun Crawfish Boil. For those two standing events alone, Thursdays are a favorite night among Robinson’s clientele.
Taking full advantage of the Ultimate Date Night and his regularly packed house, Robinson thinks it is the ideal evening to announce the winner of the village’s buzzed-about competition that began in January. The contest is to name a picture featuring several locals that was created by artist Anne Goetze. She has once again documented another eternal moment that exemplifies Leiper’s Fork; that once-a-day time after work and before supper when men gather. In this case, they gather around the fire in front of Puckett’s in Leiper’s Fork.
This is the second such iconoclastic scene Goetze has created. In 1998, she photographed and painted the often seen “Table of Wisdom,” driving the message of Americana that helped brand the identities of Leiper’s Fork and Puckett’s. Goetze felt it was time to seize the moment again, with some new cast members along with some originals.
“At last count,” Robinson says, “we were up to several dozen entries. Folks are coming in here to enter and going to Hills & Hamlets’ website and Facebook to enter. It’s going to be tough deciding.”
The winner will be determined after February 10th by a small committee headed by the artist. Robinson will announce the winner, along with a few surprises, on February 14 at Puckett’s in Leiper’s Fork. The contest winner will be presented with a signed 18- by 24-inch giclée print of their named art. For more information contact Anne Goetze at 615.948.5550.
