SYLACAUGA, Ala. – The Alabama Bicentennial Magic of Marble Festival will be held April 2-13, 2019. Sculptors will work in Central Park across from Blue Bell Creameries with marble displays and other sculptures for sale in B.B. Comer Memorial Library.
Tour where some of the most beautiful marble in the world is quarried – right here in the Sylacauga area. Sign up for one of the tours to learn about the quarries and see where Sylacauga’s marble is cut and lifted for use in the artistic and architectural world.
Visitors from all over the world come to observe sculptors carving from beautiful Sylacauga marble. This year there will be more than 25 sculptors working at their craft.
One returning artisan is Master Italian sculptor, Marcello Giorgi. He has been carving marble and sculpting since he was a kid, and later opened a school in Montale, where he teaches the Italian form of sculpting. “The color of Sylacauga white marble is amazing; it is transparent,” said Giorgi. “The composition of the marble is also great. I enjoy working with it.”
Sylacauga’s world-renown sculptor, Craigger Browne, is preparing for this year’s festival as well. Browne has masterpieces on five continents, and hopes to have two new pieces on display at this year’s Marble festival – The Messenger and The Birth of Medusa.
B.B. Comer Memorial Library will house the “marble room” with beautiful marble pieces and sculptures from previous Marble Festivals for sale. Exhibits from OMYA, IMERYS and Sylacauga Marble Company will also be on display. Hours are 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. daily.
Marble Festival Chairman, Dr. Ted Spears, is excited about this year’s festival. The Sylacauga Marble Festival 2019 Celebrates its 11th birthday and the State’s 200th birthday! Listed below is the schedule of events. Everyone is invited to get out and enjoy the marvel of Sylacauga’s beautiful white marble.
Festival Event Schedule:
April 2: Sculptors arrive, pick up marble, select carving spot, bring marble items for sale to library.
April 2-13: Marble product displays and sculptures for sale from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. daily in B.B. Comer Memorial Library’s Hightower Room
April 3-4: Imerys Quarry visits, Observation Site, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. each day, register in mayor’s office at 256-401-2424
April 4: Spirit of Italy Party, 6:00 p.m.
April 5: Special Tour Sylacauga; Marble Quarry, 10:00 a.m.
April 6: Fish Fry for sculptors and their wives/husbands, American Legion Hall, 6:30 p.m.
April 10: Mayor’s Reception for sculptors and sponsors, City Hall at 6:00 p.m.
April 10-11: OMYA Quarry visits, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. each day, register in mayor’s office
April 11-12: Sylacauga Quarry visits, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. each day, register in mayor’s office
April 13: Festival Ends
