Market print sale will benefit town's festival
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on August 9, 2005 1:48 PM
FAISON -- Folk artist Ivey Hayes of Wilmington will sign original paintings at his booth during the Market Day Festival.
The festival is set for Oct. 22 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in downtown Faison. Market Day is held each year to celebrate Faison's produce market, which was established shortly after World War II. The market made Faison home to the second-largest vegetable exchange in the United States and the third largest in the world.
Hayes has also given the Faison Improvement Group, which is organizing the festival, permission to sell signed prints of a painting he will do depicting the original produce market.
FIG will have a separate booth at the festival and will sell the prints to raise money for future festivals. The signed prints will be $40 each.
Festival organizer Lisa Patterson said she has sent several old photos to Hayes for ideas that he can incorporate into the market painting. She said when the painting is finished around mid-September, FIG will hold an unveiling ceremony at the Southern Exposure Restaurant.
Ms. Pattersonn said people will be able to start ordering their own prints after the unveiling.
The original painting will be available for sale by the artist. Ms. Patterson said Hayes, who began painting at age 3, uses bright, bold colors in his paintings.
For information, call Ms. Patterson at 919-921-0029.
The N.C. Department of Transportation has authorized closing N.C. 403 from the railroad tracks to the old Southern Produce Market at the edge of town. Uniformed officers will be directing traffic at the intersections.
A Market Day parade will begin at 9 a.m.
Children's activities and rides will be at the Community Center. The main stage will be at the library in the park. Entertainment will be provided all day at the two stages. Scheduled to appear throughout the day will be FatBack and The Cadillacs band; a storyteller -- The Chicken Man; a professional clown; singers; a disc jockey; shaggers; and Hispanic dancers.
Organizers bill the festival as a day full of history, a museum tour, music, children's rides, inflatables and other activities. In addition, there will be an antique corvette display and plenty of food and crafts. A 5K run and a Civil War encampment are also planned.
Major sponsors for the event include Coca-Cola in Goldsboro and Bay Valley Foods.