As a new member of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Mandeville, artist Ferris Hotard quickly befriended longtime church member Lenda Dean Perez, then shortly thereafter found himself co-chairman of a fledgling art show and church festival.

“She came right up to me and said, ‘I’d like to start an art show, and you are the person to help me,’” he recalled of the new art show. “She was the kind of person you just listened to and did as she asked.”

That first encounter was nearly 15 years ago, and the Lenda Dean Memorial Art Festival at St. Michaels is now in its 13th year with Hotard still at the helm. Originally dubbed the St. Michael’s Art Show, the church changed the name to honor Perez when she passed away of cancer in 2014.

Hotard said this year's festival on Nov. 7-9 is the biggest

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