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Dillsboro festival slated for Saturday
By Derek Hodges
This year’s Dillsboro Arts and Heritage Festival, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 10, promises to be bigger than ever.
A stage on Church Street will host local performers and 55 artisans and crafters will display wares on Front Street.
“The festival’s popularity has increased in recent years thanks to a nice blend of exhibiting artisans and fine crafters, talented local musicians, and quality food vendors,” said Dawn Hummel, who is coordinating the event for the Dillsboro Merchants Association. “This year’s festival should be even more popular as an expanded offering of arts and crafts is on tap.”
To offer more variety, event organizers have made space for five additional vendors this year. Painters, wood and metal workers, potters, and soap and jewelry makers, are among the crafters from five states who are expected to be in Dillsboro on Saturday, Hummel said.
“It looks like it’s going to be wonderful,” Dillsboro Mayor Jean Hartbarger said. “It just sounds like a great year. It’s always a great event.”
Many in Dillsboro consider the event the opening of the town’s summer tourism season, she said.
“Exposure is always good for the town,” she said. “The more people who learn about Dillsboro, the better.”
Hummel agreed the festival is a good draw for the town.
“The great thing about this festival is what a cool town it’s held in,” Hummel said. “Dillsboro is a great place, and we really do anticipate this being a great day.”
In an attempt to make the festival more kid-friendly, organizers have invited clowns and face painters, Hummel said. A children’s unicycle group will also take to the streets Saturday, she said.
Food from kettle corn to barbecue will be available from seven vendors on Church Street. Tables will be set up in the area, which is near the stage.
Almost all the acts scheduled to perform this year are featured on the “Sounds of Jackson County” CD, a fund-raiser for the new Jackson County Library.
“We want to give as much profile to the ‘Sounds of Jackson County’ as we can because it’s really a great cause,” entertainment coordinator Karen Barnes said.
Copies of the CD will be on sale Saturday, she said.
Limited seating will be available on Church Street, and festival-goers are encouraged to bring their own chairs or blankets, Barnes said.
“I’m very pleased with the entertainment lineup we have planned for this year,” Barnes said. “They’re a real great representation of the community’s talent. We’ve got so much local talent.”
Though they did not take part in “Sounds of Jackson County,” the Smoky Mountain High School Show Choir is also slated to perform.
“I love giving a performance opportunity to young performers,” Barnes said.
Headlining Saturday’s entertainment will be Sylva native Matt Stillwell, an “up-and-coming” country singer, according to Hummel. Stillwell will perform songs from his latest album, “Take it All In.”
While the Dillsboro Merchants Association has sponsored the festival for 23 years, this year they are joined by the Jackson County Arts Council, which provided a grant to help pay for the entertainment.
“We’re so excited to have the Arts Council as part of this event,” Barnes said. “We’ve been looking for grants for a while, and they came through.”
The entertainment schedule includes:
10 a.m. – Fiddling Dills Sisters and Cullowhee Valley Boys
11 a.m. – Liberty Baptist Gospel Choir
11:30 a.m. – Kim Shuler
12 p.m. – SMHS Show Choir
12:30 p.m. – Marshall Ballew
1:15 p.m. – Sugar Barnes
1:45 p.m. – Storytelling by the Ammons sisters
2:15 p.m. – He Said/She Said
3 p.m. – Matt Stillwell
4 p.m. – All-star jam
Festival admission is free, as is the entertainment. Both free and paid parking will be available.
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