Another successful Newbern Fall Festival
By WILLIAM PAINE
Patriot Publishing
The weather was just about perfect for this year’s Newbern Fall Festival, as thousands came to Pulaski County’s oldest village last Saturday and Sunday to stroll down the mile long stretch of Newbern’s historic Wilderness Road.
“The fall festival was quite successful,” said Andy McCready of the Newbern Volunteer Fire Department, which sponsored the event. “We were pretty much equal to last year’s record attendance.”
As in past years, the Newbern Community Center and its surrounding grounds were buzzing with activity. Some offered wares seen in years past, while others brought in brand new purchasables. According to Newbern Fall Festival Coordinator Courtney Hamblin, 100 vendors signed up to place a selling booth at this year’s festival and that doesn’t count those, like Kenneth Mitchell, who sold his goods from his front yard.
Mitchell, whose father worked for The Southwest Times before moving to Roanoke, often visited Pulaski County to see his grandparents. In 1996, Mitchell asked a Newbern native if he could set up a booth in her front yard to sell goods at that year’s fall festival.
“She said why don’t you buy my house?” Mitchell recounted. “It was cheaper than where I was living in Radford and so I bought it.”
Mitchell now owns three houses on that stretch of Wilderness Road and became a permanent resident of Newbern in 2006. He’s been selling wares from his front porch every festival ever since.
As always, the Wilderness Road Regional Museum was fully immersed in the festivities with individuals in colonial era outfits pressing cider, making apple butter and shucking corn in the rear courtyard. Naturally, members of the Revolutionary War era Fincastle Militia were diligently guarding the back entrance to the museum.
Sheena Johnson of the Pulaski County Library was seen playing the ancient game of hoop rolling, a colonial era favorite among the younger set, in the back yard of the museum.
Sheena clearly has hoop rolling skills. Does she practice?
“That’s all she ever does at home,” quipped her daughter Mary Blackford.
Virginia Hollow played upbeat Appalachian tunes from the Wilderness Road museum’s parking lot, as they’ve done for a half dozen years, while local musical prodigy Hollace Oakes was set to provide the tunes for Sunday afternoon’s festival goers.
Along the street museum volunteers sold beans and cornbread, cookies and “vintage drinks,” while Dana Jackson was reminding passersby of America’s upcoming Semiquincentennial Celebration and handing out Pulaski County pamphlets.
Donald Thomas came strolling by dressed in kilt, which makes sense, since he and his family had just come from the Radford Highlanders Festival. Donald and his family live just over the Wythe County line and make a point to hit as many festivals as possible on sunny Saturday afternoons.
Steve Cheveyo Garary, a member of the Central Appalachian Cherokee Tribe, claimed a street corner at the festival to sell his leatherwork and promote native American heritage.
“So many people have Cherokee Heritage,” said Garary. “I have a slight percentage of Cherokee, but mine has such a mixture of different Native Americans. It surprised me because my Cherokee blood showed up on my mom’s side when I was always told it was on my dad’s side. So, it showed up on both sides instead of just his side.”
“I always told my children they must be wild Indians and didn’t know that I was speaking truth,” added wife Audry Garay.
“I got here about 6 this morning,” said Newbern Volunteer Firefighter Tommy Carpenter. “Most of us got here before 6:30. It was chilly this morning. We’ll probably head home about 6:30 this evening.”
For 17 years, Carpenter was the Fire Chief for the Town of Parksly on Virginia’s eastern shore. Today he works as an officer of the Town of Pulaski Police Department.
“I went to work for Pulaski because all my kids and grandkids are right here … so we moved out here,” said Carpenter.
The Newbern Volunteer Fire Department (NVFD) handles parking at the festival and patrols the roadway ensuring the health and safety of all attendees. The NVFD keeps the proceeds from the parking fees and also earns money by selling their famous “Ham Sammiches” from the fire station.
On Sunday evening, Newbern Fire Department volunteers picked up and stacked all signage. Additionally, the NVFD picked up and then emptied any trash leftover from this past weekend’s festivities.