By Lorrie Ross
Staff Writer
-
(Progress photo by Lorrie Ross) Cloggers are a favorite for festival attendees. They will take the gazebo stage at 10am Saturday morning. Cloggers from the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown range in age from three years to 80 years old. For Festival 2019, some of the youngest dancers waited to take the stage, but also the hearts of those watching. L-R: Benjamin Davis, 8; Romaine Davis, 6; Jones Ference, 7; and three year old Ella Ference.
Clay County’s most fun-filled art weekend of the year has returned after a 2020 hiatus. Even better, the 2021 Festival on the Square is celebrating 40 years of art, music, and fun on Historic Hayesville Courthouse Square. The event occurs in the shadow of The Beal Center, formerly known as the Historic Clay County Courthouse, which is on the National Register for Historic Places and has played backdrop to the Festival on the Square since the event began.
Whether you enjoy sipping lemonade while sitting in the shade to tap your toes to live Appalachian music, eating fresh BBQ, shopping arts and crafts from several dozen artists, or cooling off with an ice cream cone, the festival will have something for you.
The event kicks off around 7 p.m. Friday, July 9, with live music on closed downtown streets near Hayesville Town Hall and Chinquapin's. Everyone is welcome to the free concert by Moe Buckner and Our Way Band, with offerings of traditional country and soft rock music. Make sure to bring a chair to relax and try to get there early.
From 10-5 on Saturday, July 10, and 10-4 on Sunday, July 11, more than 70 crafters and artists of various mediums will display their wares. Artistic demonstrations will be done by some artists, many of whom are local. Photography, paintings, gourd art, jewelry, and whiskey barrel furniture will return this year. Whimsical crafts, candles, soap, wooden signs, and knives are also offered, along with numerous other arts and crafts. Some new items include hanging chairs, quilling and aromatherapy products.
While visiting artists’ booths, take time to enjoy the free shows continuing all weekend with various soloists, bands, dance groups, and some standard Appalachian entertainment in the gazebo. Cloggers from the John C. Campbell Folk School will launch Saturday’s entertainment schedule at 10 a.m. The Pressley Girls will follow at 11 a.m., then Rob Tiger and Wyatt Espalin will take the stage at 1 p.m.
On Sunday, dance students of Star Dance Studio will start the day’s entertainment at noon. Emolyn Liden and Friends will follow at 1 p.m. The Sea Notes will start performing at 3 pm, but the sound and music of John Scroggs will be around all weekend.
Make sure to bring an appetite for fresh festival barbeque hot off the grill to eat onsite or take home. Food selections include pork barbeque plates and sandwiches, grilled brats and hot dogs with all the fixings, slaw, beans, desserts, and drinks. New food options this year will be wraps, and elotes or corn on the cob. Food will be for sale while it lasts both days. Fresh-squeezed lemonade, sodas, water and ice cream are also sold both days.
Sponsored by the Clay County Historical and Arts Council, admission to the Festival on the Square and all entertainment is free, but the barbeque is sold to benefit CCHAC, which supports the Old Jail Museum and various art and history events for the schools and the community. CCHAC receives support from the NC Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowments of the Arts. For more information, go to www.clayhistoryarts.org. No pets, only service dogs allowed.