THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 31, 1996 TAG: 9610300199
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Phyllis Speidell
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 50 lines
Residents and merchants of Driver threw a party last weekend, inviting the world to stop by for some good food, lively country music, great bargains and down-home hospitality.
About 8,000 folks, coaxed in part by the perfect October weather, accepted the invitation and streamed in to enjoy the two-day Driver Days Fall Festival.
Started three years ago to lure shoppers to the area, Driver Days has blossomed into a community festival supported by merchants and residents.
Last year, Cynthia Cooper's visit to Driver Days induced her to move to the new Driver Station subdivision. Volunteering for the festival committee was a way to get to know her neighbors, something Cooper did so well that she has been selected as next year's Driver Days' chairman.
This year's event included re-enactors reliving characters from 500 A.D. to the Korean War. The Wild-West gun slingers and mounted frontier scouts seemed as much at home in the rustic crossroads as did the Confederate infantry and cavalry troops encamped there.
As an extra hospitable touch, the Driver townsfolks treated 150 re-enactors, entertainers, and vendors to a home-cooked chicken dinner on Saturday night. The festival organizers also awarded a trophy to Jack Cooper, proud owner of the 1971 Ford pickup voted the ugliest truck in town.
``It was magical,'' chairman Dennis Vosburgh said of this year's event. He laughed as he remembered the townspeople cleaning up Sunday evening. ``We were all suffering festival withdrawal,'' he said. ``Without all the crowds, this seemed like a ghost town.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
From left, Dan Stephens enjoys the festival food while his daughter,
Cindy Griggs holds a parking sign. Cindy's son, John, and her
husband, Charlie, watch for traffic.
Left: A Wild-West gun slinging re-enactor handles his horse on Kings
Highway during Driver Days Fall Festival.
Below: Civil War re-enactors included the 1st Virginia Battalion.
Phil Scott, left, and Chris Watson, rest under a tree during their
encampment.
JoAnne Biggers, center, line dances with the group Southern
Attitude. by CNB