The Hawkins Family of Hot Springs, Ark., will be one of the groups featured in the Second Annual Fort Gibson Southern Gospel Music Festival to be held July 18 and 19.

The festival began last year to bring good, faith-based entertainment to the community and proved to be a success, said the Rev. Terrill White, Trinity pastor.

The Hawkins family will be one of several groups featured on the opening night of the festival at the Fort Gibson High School auditorium. Others on the program with them will be The Jenkins Sisters of Ft. Worth, Texas; One Purpose of Muldrow; and The Carpitchers of Tahlequah; and Naomi Carey of Tahlequah, OK.

The Jenkins Sisters will perform at the festival July 19 at the church.

The Hawkins Family is celebrating 50 years in gospel music this year. In 1958, Buddy and his wife, Imogene, formed the quartet with their two young daughters, Lou and Norma.

Buddy answered the call into the ministry which took the family to Longview, Texas, where they provided the music for the tent meetings. Since this was before electric keyboards they used an upright piano and Buddy learned right away how to tune it daily.

After leaving the tent ministry, the family began to sing in singing conventions and monthly singings around Hot Springs. They soon became a familiar sight at local churches and began to sing throughout Arkansas and surrounding states.

Today, the group members include Morris Tabor, Lou Tabor, Terry LeMay, Valerie Oliver, Dan Henderson and Paul DeWeber. The group is a member of the Texas Gospel Music Artists Association and the Four States Gospel Music Association. In addition to their own Web site, they are featured artists on other Web sites, including Heaven Sound, Smoky Mountain Gospel Music and GospelOK.