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Annual spring festival draws thousands downtown
By Lynn Hotaling
(To See Photos from Greening Up The Mountains, Click Here)
Thousands flocked to Sylva's downtown area Saturday (April 24) for the seventh annual Greening Up the Mountains spring festival sponsored by Sylva Partners in Renewal and Catch the Spirit of Appalachia.
With music filling the air from stages at opposite ends of Main Street, a steady stream of festival-goers browsed the 80-plus vendors' booths - a record number for the event - throughout the day.
Thousands flocked to Main Street Saturday for Sylva's annual Greening Up the Mountains spring festival. Blackrock Outdoor Co.'s climbing wall, right, was a popular attraction all day, and a steady stream of visitors shopped, ate and enjoyed the music during the daylong event, which was sponsored by Sylva Partners in Renewal and Catch the Spirit of Appalachia. See page 10C for more festival photos. - Herald photo by Kelly Timco
Festival coordinator Greg Duff, who has managed the spring celebration for the past three years, termed Saturday's event a success.
"I thought it went really well," Duff said. "The crowds were consistent all day."
New to this year's festival was professional staging, and Duff said he thought that had made a big difference.
"I was pleased with the way that looked," he said. "The music was great, and we tried to add more variety this year, especially to the main stage."
The day went smoothly from a public safety standpoint as well, said Sylva Police Chief Jeff Jamison, who estimated the day's crowd at between 5,000 and 6,000 people, or slightly smaller than the one that turned out last year.
Vendors reported busy sales, said SPIR administrator Linda Gillman, who said Main Street was "packed from end to end."
Overall winners in Catch the Spirit of Appalachia's children's talent competition, held in conjunction with Saturday's downtown Sylva Greening Up the Mountains festival, are, from left, Sara Larcher, second; Jesse Stephens, third; and Brayden McMahan, first. Some 35 children participated in the contest, and overall winners were chosen based on performance, confidence, stage presence and crowd-pleasing ability, judges said.
Gillman also praised the efforts of the many volunteers who worked to make the festival a success.
"Putting together a festival as large and successful as Greening Up the Mountains takes hundreds of volunteers, some of whom work behind the scenes for months before the big day," Gillman said.
Among those Gillman singled out for commendation were coordinator Duff and the festival committee - Betty Foxx, Russ Seagle, Heather Menacof, Julie Spiro, Max Browning, Anne Cabe, Marshall Ballew, Sarah Graham, Lisa Duff, Amy Garza and Doreyl Cain.
In addition, Gillman thanked town of Sylva personnel and police officers for their assistance, and expressed appreciation to the festival's sponsors.
"Sylva Partners in Renewal produces this festival to showcase downtown Sylva as well as the vendors and musicians," she said. "We salute each and every one of our festival sponsors for their huge part in making the festival possible."
The McGuire House courtyard and Main Street's eastern end were busy throughout the day with Catch the Spirit's mountain heritage events.
"This festival was the best ever," said Garza, director of Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, who also thanked the many volunteers who helped with the day's festivities. "We had so many people who came and gave freely of their talents - our entertainers, contest coordinators, emcees, judges, sponsors, board members, and many, many more."
Competition winners are as follows:
Heritage Contests
Preserved vegetables and fruits - Geraldine Queen, first; Linda Vinson, second and third.
Pickles and relishes - Queen, first; Vinson, second; Pat Warren, third.
Preserved fruits - Vinson, first through third.
Jams, jellies and butter - Doris Pannell, first; Dot Conner, second; Joy Hoyle, third.
Heritage canning - Vinson, first and second; Hoyle, third.
Handcrafts - Virginia Short, first; Pannell, second; Nancy Friedrich, third.
Quilts, hand-stitched - Pat Warren, first; Pannell, second; Carol Anderson, third.
Quilts, machine-stitched - Harriet Parker, first; Friedrich, second; Parker, third.
Handstitchery/Aprons - Warren, first; Cora Lee Shular, second and third.
Baked goods -Vinson, first; Pannell, second.
Children's Contests
Essays - Brandon Watson was named Festival King, and Katie Spiro, Festival Queen, for their first-place essays on "The Environment and Our Heritage." Second-place runners-up were Matt Nicholson and Emily Melrose. The third-place Royal Court included Alex Briggs, Crystal Shuler, Laura Ward and Brett Baucom.
Parade costumes - Most original, Shandell Pannell; Most colorful, Scotts Creek Art Club; Most colorful, honorable mention, Spring Fling; Most school participation, Cullowhee Valley School kindergarten.
Children's Talent
Best of Show - Brayden McMahan, first; Sarah Larcher, second; Jesse Stephens, third.
Young Vocal - Ali Todd, first; Katie Fortner and Paige Robinson, second; Olivia Dunlap and Hannah Fisher, third.
Older Vocal - Larcher, first; Clay Bellew, second; Clay Buchanan, third.
High School Vocal - Tonya Pruett, first.
Young Fiddle - Alexis Hardy, first; Anne Lovedill and Shea Roper, second; Kathryn Karcher and Hanna Tritt, third.
Older Fiddle - Bailey Steel and Madeline Seagle, first; Summer McMahan, second; Brayden McMahan, third.
Banjo - Brayden McMahan, first; Ethan Fortner, second; Jesse Stephens, third.
Guitar - Stephens, first; Will Howell, second.
Mandolin - Summer McMahan, first; Stephens, second.
Other/Harp - Shelby Ray Meyer, first.
Other/High School - Megan Nauteu, first.
Dance - Fairview Cloggers and Cullowhee Valley Cloggers, first.
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