Hoot and Howl’s Second Saturday art market and Arts Walk coincide on Saturday, November 9.
A little-known fact about the artisan shop Hoot and Howl on Walnut Street downtown is that everyone who works there is an artist. Owner Stephanie Swaim, who started the business in 2018, is a maker, vintage lover, and community-minded entrepreneur. She started the shop’s Second Saturday series to highlight local artists. This Saturday, November 9, the series coincides with this season’s final Arts Walk.
Swaim features a local artist each month in the Second Saturday event. This month’s artist is Huntington landscape photographer Jesse Thornton. “Photography is hard,” says Swaim. “He’s the best.” Thornton’s photographs are printed in large format on metal and highlight dramatically varied landscapes and changing seasons. He also has a gift for capturing night skies and the thousands of stars that can be seen in the dark. He hopes his work inspires people to look up. On Saturday, customers will have a chance to meet the artist and buy his work.
In addition to Thornton, seven pop-up vendors will be set up in front of the shop on Saturday. East Wheeling Clayworks, Red Thread Press, Liz Pavlovic Design, and others will sell their work and chat with customers. “It’s an opportunity for artists to get their feet wet and learn to put themselves out there,” Swaim says. It is vitally important to her to support the artisans whose work she sells in the store and to champion makers. “It’s a way to bring the community together downtown, to meet local artists, and buy handmade goods.”
Hoot & Howl creates community by hosting events and workshops each month. Every weekend in December, it will host holiday pop-up parties on Saturdays and Sundays. Printmaker Amy LaFollette, who works at Hoot & Howl, will be the featured artist of the month. Follow Hoot and Howl for the latest information.
The final Arts Walk of the season will also be on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will showcase creative vendors from the local community. Music such as The Ted Kisko Sound Situation, Chris Haddox, and Morgantown Swing DJ and dancing will entertain the crowd in Courthouse Square.
