38th Annual Festival on the Square

From 38th Annual Festival on the Square Website:

The 38th Annual Festival on the Square is
July 13-15, 2018.
Saturday, July 14 (10-5)
Sunday, July 15 (10-4)
Street Dance Friday July 13

From Saturday, July 14th to Sunday, the 15th, the Historic Courthouse Square in downtown Hayesville will host an array of crafters, artists and food for the 35th Annual Festival on the Square. One July weekend a year, the Festival has become a town tradition that brings free entertainment and arts to the lawns of the Courthouse, which is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
This year's Festival kicks off Friday night, July 13th, with free live music starting around 7:00pm. On the corner in front of Chinquapin's, the streets will close a couple of hours before the dance and fresh-cooked food and cold drinks will be sold. Plan to bring a chair and relax or take to your feet to dance along as Bob Dalsimer and the Ad Hoc String Band plays traditional tunes for contra and round dancing. Around 8:15, the Sweetheart Cloggers will show off their talents. Then there will be a "Street Jam" with music by Caromia Tiller, Jason Kenny and members of Gnarly Fingers, Irons in the Fire and others.
From 10-5 on Saturday, July 14th, and 10-4 on Sunday, July 15, more than 70 crafters and artists from several states will display their wares around the courthouse, which is on the National Register for Historic Places. Items like pottery, photography, paintings, bath salts and soaps, gourds, yard decor and wood carvings will be for sale. Others include fabric art, knitting, candles, and jewelry. Many artists will be doing demonstrations, as well. The Square now has Internet which allows more vendors to accept credit cards.

While viewing the art booths, stop to enjoy the shows that continue all weekend with various soloists, bands, dance groups, and some standard Appalachian entertainment in the gazebo. The entertainment schedule is posted here for your convenience. A children's tent will let the little ones have their own fun with face-painting and crafts.

Fresh, festival BBQ will be sold hot off the grill. BBQ chicken or pulled pork dinners, hot dogs and pulled pork sandwiches, chips, beans, and slaw will be for sale from 11-3 on Saturday and Sunday to eat on-site or take home containers will be available. A bake sale, ice cream, fresh -squeezed lemonade, iced tea, sodas and water sold both days as long as they last.
Sponsored by the Clay County Historical and Arts Council, admission to the Festival 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.

Carl Moore's book, Clay County Then and Now, will be on sale at the Festival information booth. Festival t-shirts and hats will be sold at a discount to benefit the group, too. Stop by the booth to find out how to help CCHAC with next year's Festival and other events.