Celebrating 20 Years of ARTS ’Round the Square
Photo by Brandi Watford Photography
Twenty years of art. Twenty years of music. Twenty years of bringing our community together in the heart of downtown Paris.
The 20th Annual ARTS ’Round the Square is officially in the books, and we could not have asked for a better way to celebrate this milestone!
More than 75 vendors filled the court square with artwork, handmade goods, food, and creativity, while live music and live art brought energy to downtown throughout the day. We were blessed with beautiful weather, a wonderful crowd, and so many people working behind the scenes to make it all happen.
Most importantly, we had the opportunity to celebrate the people who started this tradition, the people who continue it today, and the community that has supported ARTS ’Round the Square for the past 20 years.
A New Tradition to Begin the Day
For the first time in the event’s history, ARTS ’Round the Square began with an official opening ceremony.
Under the leadership of our new Paris-Henry County Arts Council Executive Director, Shannon Reed-Chase, the ceremony gave us a chance to start the day by honoring our community and reflecting on how far this event has come.
Members of Scouting America presented the colors, with Sophia and Taegen representing Troop 3 alongside Scoutmaster Cathy Steele, and Garrison representing Troop 226 in Puryear alongside Scoutmaster David Barrett. City Mayor Cathy Ray joined us for the ceremony, and Shannon Reed-Chase performed the National Anthem.
It was a special beginning to a day celebrating 20 years of ARTS ’Round the Square.
Honoring Where It All Began
Twenty years ago, Mary Lodge, the first director of the Paris-Henry County Arts Council, helped create ARTS ’Round the Square and establish a tradition that has become an important part of our community.
This year, we were proud to honor Mary with the Founder’s Legacy Award.
Her son, Henry County Mayor Jonathan Lodge, accepted the award on her behalf and shared memories of growing up with ARTS ’Round the Square as part of his family’s life. Two decades later, that tradition is still going strong — and is now being experienced by another generation.
For Shannon, stepping into the Executive Director role this year meant honoring the history behind ARTS ’Round the Square while also looking for new ways to help it continue to grow.
“This being my first year as Executive Director, I was excited to help build on the tradition of ARTS ’Round the Square while bringing some fresh ideas and new energy to the event. Our goal was to give people even more reasons to spend their Saturday downtown enjoying the arts, music, local businesses, and the community around them. We were blessed with beautiful weather, a great turnout, and tremendous support. I’m especially grateful to our Board of Directors and the many volunteers who worked behind the scenes to make it all happen. We’re already looking ahead, and I’m very excited about what we have planned for next year.”
Art and Music All Around the Square
That combination of tradition and new energy could be seen — and heard — all around Court Square.
Music filled downtown as River Dust Duo, Joey Kirkland, The Dairy Daughters, and other performers took the stage throughout the day. This year, we also paired several of those performances with artists creating live right alongside the musicians.
Dani Poe painted during River Dust Duo’s performance, Erik Stonebraker created a live Dolly Parton painting during Joey Kirkland’s set, and Treven brought another kind of creativity to The Dairy Daughters’ performance with live spray painting.
It gave visitors a chance to not only shop for art, but to actually watch artists at work — all while enjoying live music in the middle of downtown Paris.
And if you happened to look up and see someone towering above the crowd, you weren’t imagining things!
Beyond Wings brought even more fun to the Square, with Emily walking on stilts throughout the event and quickly becoming one of the most memorable sights of the day.
It Takes a Community
ARTS ’Round the Square may happen on one Saturday each year, but making it happen takes months of planning and a whole lot of people.
We are incredibly grateful for our Board of Directors, including event co-chairs Montana Guinn and Brandi Kogut, and for every volunteer who gave their time to help with setup, coordination, cleanup, and all the little things in between.
Board member Caleb Grissom deserves a special thank-you for taking care of trash throughout the day and helping keep the Square looking beautiful. It may not be the most glamorous job at an art festival, but it is certainly one of the most appreciated!
CMAV Nashville AV Production kept our performances sounding great throughout the day, while the City of Paris assisted with street closures and safety so everyone could comfortably enjoy the event.
Christy Cross also played an important role behind the scenes, helping coordinate between the courthouse, Tourism Council, Chamber of Commerce, and downtown merchants. She even made sure the courthouse sprinklers stayed off this year — which may sound like a small detail until you’re hosting an outdoor art festival surrounded by artwork!
The Paris-Henry County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Council helped us spread the word throughout the community, and The Peddler Advantage helped us reach even more people. We are especially thankful to Scott Norwood for his help with advertising in the Paris PI and to Mike Weatherford for sharing event shout-outs during commercial breaks.
And because a successful festival day starts very early for our vendors, they were greeted that morning with coffee provided by Dunkin’ and donuts from Best Donuts in Paris — a very welcome treat after setting up booths around the Square!
Local Art Behind This Year’s Look
Even the shirts and posters commemorating our 20th year celebrated local creativity.
The back of this year’s event shirt featured “The Invitation,” a photograph by Brandi Watford Photography, while Caitlin Jelks Design & Events brought the pieces together through the event shirt design and posters.
We love that an event created to showcase artists can also use the work of local creatives to tell its own story.
Thank You to Our Community Supporters
We were once again overwhelmed by the generosity of local businesses and individuals who donated items for our raffle and gift baskets.
A huge thank-you goes to Chase’s Bloody Good Mixes, The Soap Factory, Fallow Ground, Big Booty Bouncin Biscuits, Jack’s Java, Jack Jones Flowers, Battle City Gaming, Henry County Farmers Market and Vendor Fair, From the Hive, Clear View Farms, Oak Lawn Southern Dining, Hopper-Reed Designs, Big Belly Deli, Off the Square Boutique, Poette, Millie Blue Boutique, The Iron Place, Ivy Lee Boutique, Purrrfectly Homemade, King Folk Co., Moustos Pasta and Grill, Guinn’s Shoes, TomK Custom Woodwork, My Favorite Things, and Sandy Cunningham for helping make this year’s celebration even more special.
Every donated item, volunteer hour, shared post, advertisement, cup of coffee, helping hand, and behind-the-scenes detail played a part in making the day possible.
The People Who Make ARTS ’Round the Square
At the end of the day, though, ARTS ’Round the Square has always been about people.
It’s about the artists willing to put their work out into the world. The musicians who fill downtown with music. The makers who spend countless hours preparing for their booths. The businesses and community partners who step up to support the event. The volunteers who arrive early and stay late.
And it’s about the thousands of people who have come to Court Square over the past two decades to walk through the booths, buy a piece of art, discover a new artist, watch someone create, listen to a song, share a meal, run into an old friend, and simply spend a Saturday enjoying downtown Paris together.
Twenty years after Mary Lodge helped bring the first ARTS ’Round the Square to life, there is something incredibly special about seeing that original vision continue.
To every vendor, artist, musician, performer, volunteer, business, community partner, visitor, and friend who helped make the 20th Annual ARTS ’Round the Square a success: thank you.
Thank you for showing up.
Thank you for supporting local artists.
Thank you for supporting the arts in Paris and Henry County.
And thank you for giving us 20 years of creativity and community on Court Square.
Relive the Day 📸
Brandi Watford Photography was there throughout the event capturing the people, performances, artists, vendors, and moments that made our 20th anniversary so special.
👉 View some highlights below and the full ARTS ’Round the Square 2026 photo gallery here:
https://galleries.brandiwatford.com/client/arts-2026
We hope you enjoy reliving the day as much as we enjoyed bringing it to life.
Here’s to 20 years of ARTS ’Round the Square — and to the artists, music, creativity, and community still to come. 🎨❤️
