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Third Bridge Park fest to be Oct. 19
By Stephanie Salmons
The third annual Bridge Park Arts and Music Festival will bring live music and festivities downtown on Sunday, Oct. 19.
The free event will begin at 2:30 p.m. and will continue until dark.
The festival began three years ago as a fund raiser for the Bridge Park Project – a community effort to transform the under-used municipal parking lot area into a public space and performance venue.
In May, a timber-frame pavilion was constructed, and the town of Sylva has constructed a pedestrian bridge from the Bridge Park to Poteet Park and repaved the adjacent parking lot.
The festival will feature live music all day under the new pavilion.
The children’s groups Suzuki Fiddlers and Fairview Bluegrass Club will perform from 2:30 to 3:15 p.m. Sugar Barnes will play from 3:15 until 4 p.m. The Kelly Timco Band will play from 4:15 until 4:45 p.m. while Out of the Blue will play from 4:45 until 5:30 p.m. CIA hits the stage from 5:30 until 6:15 and Cooking with Quanta will play from 6:15 p.m. until dark.
This year’s festival will also serve as the “grand opening” of the pavilion and footbridge, according to Bridge Park coordinator and Sylva town board member Sarah Graham.
While the money for the pavilion came from donations and various fund-raisers, Sylva officials have spent some $260,000 for the foot bridge.
A 4 p.m. dedication will acknowledge many of the contributions to the park, and the Bridge Park Project committee will officially donate the pavilion to the town of Sylva.
Additionally, four memorial plaques to commemorate $5,000 donations to the park will be dedicated to the Sylva Garden Club, Sylva Rotary Club, Dr. Perry Kelly, and Roger and Sue Bartlett. During the dedication ceremony, the Sylva Garden Club will honor Elizabeth Dux, a longtime member of the club who died in 2006. Three sugar maples will be planted in the park in her honor, and the trees will serve as the beginning of the landscaping efforts planned for the weeks following the festival.
Since the Bridge Park Project began its planning and fund-raising in 2006, more than $100,000 in cash and in-kind donations have been raised, said Graham, who spearheaded the fund raising efforts for the park.
Fund-raising is ongoing for the park, with landscaping yet to be completed, she said. Landscaping plans will also be available for viewing at the booth.
According to Graham, a Bridge Park booth will be set up at the festival selling food and drinks to raise money for the landscaping. This year, Graham said, the focus of the event won’t be on the fund-raising as much as it has been in the past, but donations will still be collected.
“I’d like for it to become a regular fall event,” she said.
Last year’s festival drew “hundreds” of people downtown, and Graham said that she hopes there is a large turnout this year as well.
In addition to music, there will be an array of eclectic art activities, including a magician, hula-hooping demonstrations with audience participation, and various artists and crafters demonstrating their skills. Food will include a taco stand by Guadalupe Cafe, root beer from Heinzelmannchen Brewery, and a hot dog stand.
Across the footbridge at Poteet Park, representatives from the “Walking the World” program will host a special kids art program. Children in attendance will have the opportunity to help make a one-of-a-kind banner for WOW and take home a keepsake.
All Jackson County elementary schools participate in the WOW program, and information will be available at the festival.
The Jackson County Arts Council is the sponsor for the event, Graham said.
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