Festival draws record crowds

By Lisa Majors-Duff

A crowd of more than 7,000 people was estimated in Sylva during the fifth annual event, a daylong festival designed to celebrate spring's arrival, Earth Day, mountain heritage and downtown revitalization.

"I couldn't be more thrilled about how the day went," said Greg Duff, SPIR's Greening Up the Mountains festival committee chairman. "We had a record crowd of people who were on Main Street at the beginning of the day and stayed until the final note of music sounded."

The committee's plan to distribute vendors throughout Main Street worked well this year, he said.

"People were spread throughout the entire festival area - from Schulman Street past Evalina Street," he said.

Duff also pointed out the success of new elements at this year's festival.

"I think the additions were extremely positive, including the 5K Road Race, which attracted more than 50 runners, and the climbing wall sponsored by Blackrock Outdoor Co., which had a long line all day," he said.

The activities designed especially with children in mind were favorites of SPIR President Mary Moody.

"A successful street festival must be fun for the children," Moody said. "The llamas, petting zoo, goats, wildlife exhibit, pony rides and climbing wall were all well received. The face painting and street chalking also attracted large crowds."

Fingerprinting provided by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department and the children's identification video project by members of the Dillsboro Masonic Lodge both added an element of fun and provided a valuable service to the community, she said.

"Having two stages at the opposite ends of town was an excellent idea," Moody continued. "The variety and quality of the music was very good, attracting large crowds at both stages throughout the day."

Jason Kimenker, chairman of the Sustainable Business Community, one of the festival's producing partners, agreed with Moody's assessment of the day's musical entertainment.

"My favorite part of the day was the live music by the Larry Keel Experience with Grammy-award winner Curtis Burch and his wife, Ruthie," Kimenker said. "They were some of the nicest people I have met. Not only did they say how much they enjoyed Sylva and the great community spirit here, Larry said on stage that he wants to move here.

"Jenny Keel was very responsive to the Earth Day and environmental awareness aspects of the festival," he continued.

"Many times during the performances at the Catch the Spirit of Appalachia heritage area it was almost impossible to get to the stage," said Amy Garza, co-founder of CSA, another of the festival partners. "Our people in Jackson County are awesome. They came out to support their own. The performances demonstrated the depth of the talents of the mountain people... their songs and music come from the heart.

"The talent contest for the children stands out for me," Garza said. "Sometimes I get so caught up in striving to draw attention to the fact that we need to save our heritage that I lose track of what is happening with our young people. What I saw on Saturday lifted my spirits sky high!"

"The festival was a huge success," said Sylva Mayor Brenda Oliver. "It makes me happy to see the faces of the children and adults enjoying themselves on the streets of Sylva.

"The festival organization was superb," Oliver continued. "Many thanks go to those who organized and carried out the tasks for the day."

Sylva Town Manager Richard McHargue echoed Oliver's thanks to those who worked to make this year's festival a success, including the Sylva Police Department and the town's maintenance crew. Having crews of volunteers from Western Carolina University made the festival's most difficult tasks - early morning setup and late afternoon teardown - "run smoothly and efficiently," he said.

"This festival would not have happened without the hard work of the organizing committee, our volunteers and the support of our sponsors and local organizations who donated money, time and equipment," Duff said.

"The best indication of how successful this event was came from a volunteer, who said, 'Greening Up the Mountains became a festival today, not just a street fair.' And that's exactly what we wanted," Duff continued.

"Our mission was to make the festival as good as it could be," SPIR President Moody said. "In that regard, I feel that the festival provided a wholesome event for the entire family on Main Street."

"The SBC is extremely pleased with this year's turnout and we would like to thank all those who attended, participated and volunteered countless hours toward making this possible," Kimenker said. "The community came together in harmony and made a beautiful town even more beautiful."

Click here to view scenes from this year's Greening Up the Mountains festival....

Festival day contest winners announced

5K Road Race

Winners in the road race sponsored by Great Smoky Mountains Triathlon Club and the Canary Coaliation were as follows:

Male overall winners - first place, Jay Curwen, age 35, 17:34; second place, Travis Brotherton, age 14, 19:38; and third place, Andrew Hendel, 41, 21:05.

Female overall winners - first place, Crystal Moore, 18, 23:27; second place, Anna Dill, 16, 24:21; third place, Alisha Goelz, 31, 24:36.

For additional runners' times, visit www.gsmtc.com and click on "April 27 Greening Up the Mountains."

Heritage Contests

Winners of the traditional heritage contests sponsored by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia were as follows:

Preserving

Vegetables and fruits - first place, red tomatoes, Linda Vinson; second place, cinnamon sweet apples, Linda Vinson.

Pickles and relishes - first place, zucchini relish, Linda Vinson; second place, layered tomatoes and peppers, Linda Vinson.

Jams and Jellies - first place, plum sweet jelly, Linda Vinson, second place, kudzu jelly, Doris Pannell.

Handcrafts - first place, woodworking table, Paul Pflueger; second place, crocheted wedding dress, Annie Lee Bryson.

Quilts - first place, double wedding ring, Grace Debty; second place, flower basket, Annie Buchanan.

Handstitchery-Aprons - first place, 1925 apron, Mary Lou Hedden Hooper; second place, patchwork apron, Nancy Liddle; special recognization, apron display, Dot Conner.

Winners of the baked-good contest were as follows:

First place, peanut butter honeybees, April Banks; second place, pumpkin cake, Doris Pannell.

CSA Parade

Winners of the children's essay contests are as follows:

Essay on the topic of "Majesty of Mountain Heritage" - Cliff Franks and Candace Franks, both of Cullowhee Valley School. The two were named "King" and "Queen" of the festival.

Honorable mentions - first runners up, David Cheatham and Anna McAbee; second runners up John Brown and Kayla Bryson; third runner up, Grayson Cooper. Costumes, most original, old school house from Scotts Creek School; most colorful, Jackson County Bible Club.

Children's Talent Contest

First place, Britney Acosta, vocalist, Cullowhee Valley School; second place, Grayson Cooper, dulcimer, Scotts Creek School; third place, Madeline Dora Seagle, violin, Cullowhee Valley School.

Special award for talent and spirit was awarded to the Cullowhee Valley Cloggers.

Poetry Contest

Winners in the second annual Kids Clean Air Poetry Contest, sponsored by the Canary Coalition, were:

Second grade, Bryan Luca, Blue Ridge School; third grade, Lee Burns, Smoky Mountain Elementary; fourth grade, Forest Tapley, homeschooler; fifth grade, Keller Berry, Smokey Mountain Elementary; sixth grade, Jerry Maney, Smokey Mountain Elementary, and Emily Geisler, Scotts Creek Elementary; seventh grade, Karma West and Courtney Coggins, Fairview Elementary, and Megan Nicholson, Cullowhee Valley School.

Honorable Mention - sixth grade, Coleman Morgan, Tyler Brooks and Kayla Stephens, Scotts Creek Elementary; seventh grade, A.J. Delgado and Jesse Addison, Fairview.

For more information on the contest or air quality issues, contact the Canary Coalition at 631-3447; toll free at 1-866-4CANARY; or visit the web site at www.canarycoalition.org.

Ducks on the Tuck

Organizers reported that more than $15,000 was raised in the second annual Ducks on the Tuck ducky durby fund-raisers for New Century Scholars. The top five prize winners were:

Shirley Fredrikson, Kiawah Island beach trip; Peggy Wike, Garden City beach trip; Cindy Bryson, one-day pressure wash; Ben Ogletree, set of car tires; and Alec Bowers, Cataloochee ski package.

Other winners, 122 in all, will be contacted by telephone and told how to claim their prizes.

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