Crowds, vendors equate to success

After 42 years, Festival on the Square remains big attraction

  • Becky Long • Clay County Progress Volunteers Suzanne Hanson and Bob Rogers are ready to serve at the food booth. Among the popular offerings were Mexican corn and generously filled barbecue sandwiches.
    Becky Long • Clay County Progress Volunteers Suzanne Hanson and Bob Rogers are ready to serve at the food booth. Among the popular offerings were Mexican corn and generously filled barbecue sandwiches.
  • Becky Long • Clay County Progress G’s Bees Apiary’s booth offers an array of UGA certified local raw honey and products. The business is owned by Jim and Guylaine Crabtree in Young Harris, Ga.
    Becky Long • Clay County Progress G’s Bees Apiary’s booth offers an array of UGA certified local raw honey and products. The business is owned by Jim and Guylaine Crabtree in Young Harris, Ga.
  • Becky Long • Clay County Progress Roy Underwood delights festival-goers with his performance during the final hours of the festival on Sunday.
    Becky Long • Clay County Progress Roy Underwood delights festival-goers with his performance during the final hours of the festival on Sunday.
  • Becky Long • Clay County Progress Historical & Arts Council Co-Chair Reba Beck joins Pat Stamey under their information and T-shirt tent. Proceeds from sales go to the CCHAC.
    Becky Long • Clay County Progress Historical & Arts Council Co-Chair Reba Beck joins Pat Stamey under their information and T-shirt tent. Proceeds from sales go to the CCHAC.
  • Becky Long • Clay County Progress Historic Hayesville Inc. volunteers line up at the ice cream booth. They are, from left, Lucy Rosier, Mil Puglisi, Janice Hicks, Sandy Zimmerman and Carleen Brocks. Money raised goes to support HHI projects.
    Becky Long • Clay County Progress Historic Hayesville Inc. volunteers line up at the ice cream booth. They are, from left, Lucy Rosier, Mil Puglisi, Janice Hicks, Sandy Zimmerman and Carleen Brocks. Money raised goes to support HHI projects.
  • Becky Long • Clay County Progress Starlin Anderson, 6, focuses on his painted rock project at the children’s tent which offered free face painting and arts and crafts to children. Anderson ended up creating a cool rock with a snake and flower painted on it. The tent was hosted by the CCHAC.
    Becky Long • Clay County Progress Starlin Anderson, 6, focuses on his painted rock project at the children’s tent which offered free face painting and arts and crafts to children. Anderson ended up creating a cool rock with a snake and flower painted on it. The tent was hosted by the CCHAC.
  • Becky Long • Clay County Progress Mike Wilson, left, of Wilson Custom Knives conducts an electronic sale with a customer during Sunday’s Festival on the Square. Wilson is a long-time vendor at the annual festival. He set up his knife shop here in 2000, the same year he moved to Hayesville.
    Becky Long • Clay County Progress Mike Wilson, left, of Wilson Custom Knives conducts an electronic sale with a customer during Sunday’s Festival on the Square. Wilson is a long-time vendor at the annual festival. He set up his knife shop here in 2000, the same year he moved to Hayesville.

    By Lorrie Ross

    Staff Writer

     

    Pleasant weather and lots of fun welcomed visitors to the 2023 Festival on The Square held Saturday and Sunday, July 8-9.

    As always, a street dance kicked off the event on Friday, July 7, followed by arts and crafts booths of a variety of mediums, many local entertainers and thousands of attendees.

    “This year’s festival appears to have been very successful,” Reba Beck said. “From the wonderful weather to the vendors who kept coming in, even at the last minute, to raise the count to 70 and the large number of people who came out to enjoy the day, the festival can be considered a huge success.”

    Beck, who is co-president of Clay County Historical & Arts Council which sponsors the event each year, has helped plan dozens of events over the years, including many Festivals on the Square. She shared some of the specific things she noticed for 2023. ”The entertainment and the nice weather kept people moving about and sitting comfortably on the lawn to enjoy the atmosphere,” Beck said.

    Final receipts were not available at press time, nor were any other final numbers, but CCHAC board member Patty Moore said most of the food was sold out.

    “It was a big Saturday and big Sunday,” she explained. “Barbecue, hot dogs, corn and Cajun turkey wraps were the big sellers. We had a big push on Sunday — the biggest Sunday in a while, when church let out. It was beautiful weather and vendors were happy with sales.”

    Beck added, “The Festival on the Square could not possibly go on without the help of a vast number of volunteers including some of the Hayesville High School football team who came over to help set up and the army of food servers who kept the wonderful Copper Door food moving along the serving line in the food tent.  There were several volunteers in the art tent who kept kids entertained playing games and expressing their creativity and others who kept the trash cans emptied and welcomed visitors who came by the information tent to hear more about our organization and to buy T-shirts, hats and a copy of Carl Moore’s book, “Clay County, Here and Now.”

    Food and drink proceeds, along with sales of books, T-shirts and other merchandise benefit Clay County Historical & Arts Council, a non-profit which supports various art and history events for the schools and the community, as well as the Old Jail Museum. Thanks to the Festival on the Square and donations, admission to the Old Jail Museum is free. It stays open through Labor Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

    CCHAC receives support from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowments of the Arts. Visit: www.clayhistoryartsnc.org.

    “This festival most likely will be considered a success when all the deposits are made and the report is written up and filed away,” Beck said. “The real success is evaluated by watching the faces of people strolling about, browsing for that special item to keep or share as a gift, sitting with a plate of delicious food or just enjoying  the talented musicians and dancers.  It was a great weekend.”