But what Gulfport really has become is a place for everyone, a place where ''diverse" is not a buzzword.
During a stroll along the mostly commercial Beach Boulevard on a Saturday afternoon in early February, there were children playing in front of a worn duplex, 20-somethings shopping, traditional families with children, bikers, grandparents, great-grandparents, and gay couples. And don't forget the dogs. Every other person had one, with Labrador retrievers and Chihuahuas leading the pack. Most seem to know one another.
''We at the chamber call the community 'bohemian,' " said Greg Stemm, executive director of the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce, and also a gay man and the owner of two dachshunds. ''There's a real desire not to make this a gay ghetto. We very much value an eclectic mix. For a small town, we have a remarkable blend of people."
Frank Hibrandt feels the same way. ''It's the reason I live in Gulfport. It's like Mayberry, updated for this century," said Hibrandt, who is an artist and art consultant. He recently opened Frank Edward Contemporary Art, a gallery for rotating art installations. (Hibrandt goes by Frank Edward because everybody botches his surname, he said.)
Hibrandt compares Gulfport to 1970s Key West. Several years ago he and fellow community activist Marlene Shaw started City of Imagination, an arts group promoting Gulfport artists and events. There is also the popular Gulfport Art Walk, from 6 to 8 p.m. on the first Friday and third Saturday of every month (information and a map are available online at www.gulfportchamberofcommerce.com).
Many artists live in the area, including several with ties to P-town, such as painter Hilda Neily, a winter resident, and folk artist Hugo Porcaro, a year-round Gulfporter who shows in P-town and is a member of its art association. Mailboxes painted by the Reverend Hugo, as he's called, add to the flavor of several cottages and bungalows lining brick streets in the historic downtown arts district.
