Gulfport Paints the Town Gecko

By Lynn Taylor

Art comes in many forms, particularly in Gulfport and especially during Gecko season.

But people who love Gecko World – basically, the entire town– had to get extra creative this year. From mailboxes and signs to ornaments and more traditional artwork, Gulfport’s party of the year may be canceled, but the town is awash in geckos.

The 2020 Gecko Art Show was slated to be a bigger part of the festivities than in years past, with a designated art show and live music. While that will have to wait until next year, Gulfport artists and residents rose to the task to paint the town gecko, with the help of a suggestion and two Facebook groups, Mask of Covid19 and Art Challenge.

Maryanne Wysocki

Daniel Fishback

Denis Keegan O'Hara

“The Art Challenge used the prompt ‘reptile’ to encourage local artists to create art for their yards and homes after Jon Ziegler proposed a gecko art project. We had several great pieces that can be seen around town,” said Art Challenge admin Margo Dalgetty.

Likewise, Mask of Covid19 artists were looking for a new focus and decided it was the perfect time to have some fun with geckos.

Debbie Stevenson, an admin of the group, said, “There were so many different mediums used, including Styrofoam board, aluminum and more. Everyone’s imagination works differently. It was a fun thing to see people’s creativity.”

Maryanne Wysocki