Squared & Funky

By DeMornay Harper
Blog Content Contributor

This past Saturday, I attended Art Squared which is an event held in downtown San Marcos every second Saturday from March to December. It holds a chance for local artists to showcase their art to interested patrons. 

There were a wide variety of items available for purchase. I saw tents that had fresh produce and flowers, and I also encountered bakers, painters, and woodcarvers. The stage was so authentically San Marcos and inherently eclectic that I could not help but fall in love with it.

The best part of the entire event were the interactions I had with the people of San Marcos that were attending the event. So many of the artists had stories which I was all too happy to hear. They told me about how they knew each other; One man told me about the time he traded the artist fifteen feet away from us a bison skull for a painted longhorn skull many years ago. A photographer was nice enough to show me a bunch of tips for how to use my Canon after I told him I was interested in exploring photography. Another man handed me one of his old artist brochures from the seventies instead of a card. He had the same gnarly mustache in the brochure picture, but time has transformed it to one white as snow. 

San Marcos is quite a funky town.  There is an emphasis on the outdoors because of the beautiful landscape of towering trees, hilltop views and grounding waterways. Texas State brings all that a college campus brings to a city: ambition for the future and the perspective of the youth. The arts and music scene here is truly impressive, with everyday concerts and art showcases going on. All of these components feed into the general vibe of the town. This is one that is unpretentious; the people of San Marcos are incredibly welcoming and open-minded. I always say anything goes here.

You can see the connections of the locals everywhere you go. Talk to any older person living here and they have nothing but rave reviews. They want to pour into our younger community and be a part of it which is truly a beautiful thing. Let the city of San Marcos and it’s groovy populace soak into you. Once you open your arms to this town, you will feel the love back.

My advice is to get plugged in. Check out the events going on locally! There are so many opportunities to join the community. You can start by going to the next Art Squared on August 12th.  I will see you there!

Featured image by DeMornay Harper.