The Cotton District Arts Festival

We are proud to reveal the poster for The Cotton District Arts Festival on April 19th, 2025!

Designed by artist and current Mississippi State student, Bryce Yzaguirre, this year's poster is a fusion of the many aspects of the festival and its unique location in the historic Cotton District.

CDAF 2025 Reminder + Update

The Cotton District Arts Festival returns NEXT SPRING! We are now heading into the planning phase, so be on the lookout for vendor applications if you're interested.

Rain or shine, we can't wait to see you all on April 19, 2025!

In the meantime, be sure to support our local artists, creatives, restaurants and other food vendors who may be present at the Prairie Arts Festival next Saturday, August 31st, in West Point!

Friendly Reminder that the Cotton District Arts Festival is taking a gap year to return to the Spring in 2025, so we will not be set up this weekend during Super Bulldog Weekend. See you April 19, 2025!

If you are a vendor, watch out this fall for applications

In the meantime, support our local artists, creatives, restaurants and other food vendors through other events happening this weekend including the Rainbow Bazaar, the MSU Students for a Sustainable Campus Earth Day Fair, and The Starkville Derby: Dachshund Dash on May 4th!

The 2024 The Starkville Derby: Dachshund Dash is set for May 4, 2024. This event is a fundraiser for the Oktibbeha County Humane Society and features primarily a Dachshund race. This year, in lieu of the 2024 Cotton District Arts Festival, SAAC has partnered with the Derby to assist with artisan and food vendors to add a stronger artisan presence to the event. The Artisan Area at the Starkville Derby is sponsored by Modern Woodmen of America Starkville.

APPLICATIONS FOR 2024 ARTISAN AND FOOD VENDORS ARE LIVE NOW! Please read all rules at the beginning of the application before submitting. Some rules are slightly different than CDAF. All applications MUST be submitted online.

Application fee: $15 (For Artisan and Food Vendors)
Deadline: March 15, 2024, at MIDNIGHT

For questions, please email Juliette at [email protected]

Link to the Artisan Application: https://starkvillearts.submittable.com/submit/7baa0631-d8e7-43a9-8e31-883fbc3b6ea6/starkville-derby-artisans-2024
Link to the Food Application: https://starkvillearts.submittable.com/submit/c552fb8d-bd49-4e8a-b5b5-a032982f1d41/starkville-derby-food-2024

Starkville Area Arts Council Barbara Runnels Coats, FICF, RICP, Modern Woodmen of America William Pochop, Modern Woodmen of America Charlie Plunkett, FIC, FFSC, Modern Woodmen of America Martha Ann Welch, Modern Woodmen of America

ANNOUNCEMENT: Although we were bummed to learn there wouldn’t be a The Cotton District Arts Festival this year. We are wagging our tails with excitement to announce that we’re partnering with our friends at Starkville Area Arts Council and the festival to bring you an increased vendor space for our crafty pals! Stay tuned for more info!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 📢

After careful consideration with the SAAC Board of Directors and the CDAF Planning Committee, we have decided to move the Cotton District Arts Festival back to the spring.

Going forward, CDAF will be planned for the third Saturday in April annually. With this in place, we have also decided to forgo CDAF 2024 as we do not have the resources to plan and execute two festivals in a fiscal year.

This was not an easy decision, but our ultimate goal is to give an enjoyable and accommodating event for everyone involved.

(please read the graphics for more depth)

As always, we appreciate your support! See you on April 19, 2025!