Music and Merchants Festival coming this Saturday to Pulaski
Photo by William Paine/The Patriot
Dylan Armes is the new Executive Director for Pulaski On Main and was instrumental in organizing this year’s Music and Merchants Festival. Shirts, like the one Armes in wearing, will be available at this Saturday’s festival.
By WILLIAM PAINE
The Patriot
The Music and Merchants Festival, which is organized this year by the nonprofit Pulaski On Main, is set to take place starting at 3 p.m. this coming Saturday, May 20, 2023 in downtown Pulaski Virginia.
“Pulaski On Main promotes local businesses,” explained Dylan Armes, Pulaski On Main’s Executive Director. “We promote making the downtown a vibrant and exciting place to visit. That’s really the goal, which includes bringing businesses in and helping them once they get here. You can get a lot of new people coming to a festival like this and that’s where bringing new people in starts.”
Because of ongoing construction work on West Main Street between Washington and Jefferson Avenues, this year’s Music and Merchants Festival will take place in the parking lot behind the Central Gym between Jefferson and Randolph Avenues.
This event is free of charge and will include booths set up by businesses including Mochi’s Café (macarons and cookies) RM Designs (graphic apparel, tumblers, etc.) Artistic Kindling (wood carved art and veneers) and The Jewelry Source (necklaces, bracelets and earrings). Numerous other craft vendors are also expected to show for Saturday’s festival.
Several nonprofit organizations will also maintain tables at the festival, including the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley, which is located just a few doors down the street from Pulaski On Main.
Naturally, music will fill the air for much of the Music and Merchants Festival with the Night Wingz Band starting their set at about four that afternoon. The Back Alley II Band is scheduled to start their performance at about 7 p.m. and play till about 9 that night.
Likely the most intriguing aspect of this year’s Music and Merchants Festival will be the Fire Truck Pull, which is set to take place between the hours of five and seven Saturday evening. Twenty hardy individuals will compete to see who can pull a 25,000-pound firetruck the furthest distance down West Main Street between Jefferson and Randolph Avenues.
As in the past, a wide variety of food will be available on site, as will beer and wine.
This Spring Dylan Armes graduated from Radford University with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship. He was hired to be Executive Director of Pulaski On Main on Monday May 8 but comes in having some past experience with the nonprofit.
“I started as an intern and then worked as a program assistant here,” Dylan recounted. “We didn’t have a full-time director at the time, so while I was going through school, it was really just me and the board working to get everything done. Then they decided they liked me enough to give me the opportunity to be the Executive Director … which I’m very thankful for.”
Pulaski On Main focuses on revitalizing Pulaski’s Historic District, which extends from Edgehill Drive to Calfee Center between 5th Street and the Maple Shade Plaza.
Armes also works as the Property Manager for West Main Development LLC, which owns several buildings on the same street that the company takes its name. He also acts as Property Manager for Kethanos Properties.
“We buy and renovate single family homes and then we rent them,” said Armes about Kethanos. “We have about 16 units and they’re all in the town of Pulaski.”
Though originally from the Town of Dublin, Armes now lives on West Main Street in Pulaski only a few steps away from the Pulaski On Main offices.
“I love being able to walk to work,” said Armes with a smile. “
Those involved in the Music and Merchants Festival will begin setting up their stalls at noon on Saturday. West Main Street between Randolph and Jefferson Avenues will be closed to traffic for most of the day.
