Kid’s Tent at annual festival engages youth in hands-on art activities

Mynecia (Mya) Steele and Noelle Goodson Hines,

By Carol P. Zippert

The annual Black Belt Folk Roots Festival was conceived and planned as a community celebration, lifting the culture and traditions of the region, and is currently in its 49th year.
The festival is scheduled for Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25 on the Thomas Gilmore (old courthouse) square.
A special feature of the annual Black Belt Folk Roots Festival is the Kid’s Tent which provides hands-on-art activities for young people at the festival site on Saturday, August 24, 2024. The Kid’s Tent will welcome young people on the festival grounds to participate in the various hands-on-arts activities beginning at 1:00 pm on Saturday, August 24. As a community celebration is is important that the festival is inviting to the children. We must assure that they have a place in this special community gathering.
The Kid’s Tent will be located on the Northern area of the town square, across from Eutaw City Hall.
Greene County artists, Mynecia (Mya) Steele and Noelle Goodson Hines, will lead the youth activities engaging them in creative exercises including drawing, painting, face painting and more. The participating youth will take home their creations as well as additional art supplies.
Mynecia Steele is a published author and graphic artists who will also have a selection of her works for display and sale at the festival. Her various children’s books, themed posters and myriad creations have become treasured items locally as well as throughout the worldwide web, under her brand This is Myne Design. Mya is also sought out as a festival and other events planner. Mya is a native of Greene County, educated in the Greene County School System and a graduate of Troy University.
Noelle Hines, a graduate of Alabama A&M University, is a Visual Artist, Graphic Designer, and all around creative. Affectionately known as “the Paintbrush Pimp”, she hails from Mobile, Alabama. Noëlle first realized her talent at the age of 5, and has been honing her craft for over 30 years. Noëlle is a traditional artist who creates visually stimulating designs that enhance thinking capacity and persuasion, exhibits cultural diversities, and spirited individuality. She is the owner and CEO of JoyeuxWorks: graphics.art.design, an art and design firm that creates branding packages and stationery, logos, websites, invitation suites, social media posts, billboard layouts, product design, mockups, push marketing visuals, t-shirt design, custom artwork, portraits, murals, and much more. Noëlle’s work can be viewed on the streets of Downtown Mobile, Alabama and on the walls of various schools throughout the state of Alabama, including Robert Brown Middle School in Eutaw (Greene County). Noëlle lives in Eutaw Alabama with her husband, daughter, and stepson.