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Festival draws thousands to Sylva's Main Street

By Lisa Majors-Duff
Greening '03 Thousands turned out for the all-day spring celebration, which organizers termed a "rousing success" despite early morning showers.

"This is such a great event," one visitor to Sylva said Saturday. "We are so glad we came."

That sentiment summed up the day and the feelings of most involved with this year's Greening Up the Mountains festival, which was once again produced by Sylva Partners in Renewal. While early morning gray skies and brief periods of rain dampened the street fair's start, a spring breeze moved out most of the clouds for the remainder of the day.

"I am extremely pleased about the how smoothly the whole day went," said festival director and SPIR board member Greg Duff. "Except for the early morning rain, everything went according to plan."

Ian Dances Duff went on to say that attendance appeared slightly greater than last year.

"And the vendors I spoke with said they had a very positive experience and plan to return next year," said Duff, who gave credit for the festival's success to the volunteers and town of Sylva staff "who worked hard to make it happen."

"It was a great day," said SPIR President Russ Seagle. "We had some impressive crowds considering the early morning weather."

Seagle also gave credit for the festival's success to the many volunteers, most of whom were supplied by Western Carolina University's athletic department. "The volunteers were the best."

This year's festival seems to have made more of an economic development impact, Seagle said.

"Most of those who stopped by the SPIR booth were interested in getting more information about the area," he said. "That was a positive."

Nearly 50 local and regional runners participated in the second Festival 5K at the start of the day, though none seemed to mind rain. Most of there comments centered around the challenge of climbing Savannah Drive behind the old Jackson County Courthouse. (Complete race results can be found on page 3B of this week's printed newspaper.)

Amy Garza of Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, another festival producer, called this year's Traditional Heritage Walk "a hit. The demonstrators loved it, as well as the public."

Winners in CSA's Heritage Contests were as follows:

Heritage cooking - Linda Owen Vinson, first; Doris Pannell, second.

Vegetables and fruits - Geraldine Queen, first; Linda Owen Vinson, second; Pat Warren, third.

Pickles and relishes - Pat Warren, first; Linda Owen Vinson, second and third.

Jams and jellies - Linda Owen Vinson, first; April Banks, second; Doris Pannell, third.

Handcrafts - Pat Warren and Nancy Friedrich tied for first; Doris Pannell, second; Dot Conner, third.

Quilts - Harriet Parker, first; Lori June and Nancy Friedrich tied for second; Pat Warren, third.

Handstitchery/Aprons - Pat Warren, first; Dot Conner, second.

Baked goods - Pongracz Sennyey, first; Pat Warren, second.

Children's Contests

Essay - Edward Madill was named King of the festival for his first-place essay on "Magesty of Mountain Heritage"; Lacy Isley was named Queen of the Festival for her first-place essay.

Royal Court - Sammy Matthews and Kaitlyn Spiro, second; Christopher Allen and Emily Melrose, third.

Parade - Most Original Costumes was awarded to Cullowhee Valley's kindergarten class.

Children's Talent

Poetry - Brittney Stillwell, first

FinishLine In addition to playing host to the sixth annual Greening Up the Mountains street festival Saturday, Sylva invited area runners (from left, Todd Davis, Ashlyn Bristle and Sandy Davis) to climb "Mount Savannah" during the second festival 5K. For complete 5K race results, see page 3B of our printed edition.

Back to Archive: 05/01/03.