Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 16, 1994 TAG: 9409160023
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
"We always say it's going to be bigger and better, but this year it truly is," said one of the organizers, Kathy Mantz, who is head of Christiansburg's Chamber of Commerce.
The festival, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, has added a block along West Main Street and all vending space is sold, Mantz said.
The eighth annual festival is a chance to harken back to Christiansburg's past when the famous Wilderness Trail, which took 18th-century settlers west into Kentucky, ran along what is now Main Street. Traditional-style weavers, potters, candlewickers and quilters will be on hand at the festival, demonstrating their crafts.
The festival celebrates contemporary community and culture as well. Organizers have scheduled a full slate of area entertainers. Strolling through the crowd, a crowd that has measured easily in the thousands in previous years, will be the Uncalled 4, a barbershop quartet.
Area radio and television stations will broadcast from the festival, and the Two Town Trolley will offer free rides from Blacksburg.
"Two years ago the board of directors told me to try to get the community more involved, and this year it happened," Mantz said.
For those folks who appreciate flash and glamour, NASCAR-style cars once driven by racers Dale Earnhart and Michael Waltrip will be on hand.
The food court will feature festival favorites, such as hot dogs and snow cones, and a little of the exotic, in the form of buffaloburgers.
Two raffles mean festival-goers may get lucky. One raffle, at $1 a ticket, is for 200 lottery tickets. The second, at $5 a ticket, is for a 1987 Ford Taurus.
There will be plenty for kids to see and do, too, ranging from a first-time petting farm to standard favorites such as face-painting, storytelling, games and rides.
"We try to add something a little different every year and yet keep it old-fashioned, to let the kids see something they normally wouldn't see." said Rebekah Stump, festival committee chairperson.
Also for the first time this year, festival organizers have polled vendors to see what improvements they could suggest. The result is such things as more space for the vendors, and more advertising, bathrooms and crosswalks.
"We try to make it a local festival in which everyone can put their 2 cents in and get something out of it," Stump said.
by CNB