Fall arts festival set for September in city
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on August 18, 2013 1:50 AM
Wayne County is preparing to celebrate the upcoming autumn season in style -- with its first-ever Fall for the Arts Festival.
It will be held Sept. 14 from noon to 8 p.m. at the corner of Center and East Spruce streets across from Cornerstone Commons.
There will be arts and crafts, food vendors, live music and children's activities.
"We hope to bring in around 100 vendors from all over North Carolina," gallery director Erin Alemdar said. "We're looking for anyone who's an artist or anyone who makes anything like jellies and jams. That's an important part of Wayne County culture, and there are a lot of people who do that around here."
One vendor will be selling barbecue and apple turnovers.
"This is what Wayne County is," Mrs. Alemdar said.
The Art Council wants to get a variety of vendors, along with some who might be doing other kinds of lost crafts, like woodworking.
"To have that all in one place where people can come and shop and see all these different things, I think it would be a valuable experience for our community," Mrs. Alemdar said. "We really want it to be a celebration of not just art, but Wayne County culture."
In addition to vendors, there will also be live entertainment. Wayne County's Malpass Brothers will headline a free concert, which will also include other homegrown talent.
Not only is the event a fun thing, but it's also a fundraiser for the Arts Council.
There will be a beer and wine garden area, featuring local beers and wines. Hinnant Family Vineyard will sell muscadine and scuppernong wines. The area will have a rustic Wayne County farm theme. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Arts Council.
A children's play area will have bouncy castles and kids' activities and games.
"The idea for the fall festival came about when Dale Foster and Thomas Bailey with the Goldsboro Police Department came to us," Mrs. Alemdar said. "They are doing the LE torch run to raise awareness and money for Special Olympics."
To do this, there will be a fire truck pull to see who can pull a fire truck 25 feet the fastest. The cost is $200 per eight-member team. Proceeds go to Special Olympics.
"We're having the festival in the fall because it's an exciting time of year," Mrs. Alemdar said. "It's going to be a little bit after school starts and hopefully people will have settled and back to a routine. And here's something fun they can do right here."
Mrs. Alemdar said it's also a good time to get a head start on Christmas shopping.
"It's important to have a sense of what Wayne County is and who we are, and we hope the festival does this," she said. "It's about defining the place that we live in. We want people to be able to come to this and see that Wayne County is rich in culture and that we do have our own personality."
The event is free and sponsored by Prudential The McMillen Real Estate Group.
To be a vendor, go to www.artsinwayne.org and fill out the application. Cost is $25 for a space, another $25 for a table and cover and another $25 for an electrical hookup.
For more information about the Fall for the Arts Festival, call the Arts Council at 919-736-3300.