Old Fashioned Trading Days is almost upon us so get ready to eat a ribeye steak sandwich from the Whitley County Cattlemen’s Association, check out some local craft vendors and enjoy three days of gospel, bluegrass, country or rock music in downtown Williamsburg.
The 42nd Annual Williamsburg Old Fashioned Trading Days festival will take place Thursday – Saturday.
The festival has grown significantly since it first started.
Former WEZJ radio station co-owner Theresa Estes first founded the festival along with members of the Downtown Merchants Association in part to bring more people to downtown to shop.
The festival initially got its name in part because of the old time, long dresses that the female members of the Downtown Merchants Association would wear and the bib-overalls that the men would don.
“The first year we had Old Fashioned Trading Days, we had a flatbed truck pulled up in front of the courthouse steps there, and we had a couple of groups come,” Estes explained during a 2004 interview. “The Shriners had a food booth, and we had maybe a handful of crafters, so it has come a long way.”
The old fashioned outfits only lasted a few years due to the September heat, but the name stuck. The festival has since grown to three full days with thousands of visitors each year.
This year there are approximately 128 vendors lined up for the festival with all vendor spots rented.
You can check out some local school groups and college students performing Friday morning.
Friday starting at 10 a.m., the Whitley Central Elementary School fifth graders are scheduled to perform a patriotic routine.
They will be followed by the University of the Cumberlands (UC) Band at 10:30 a.m. The first year that the UC band took part in the festival, they marched downtown from the school. If I remember correctly, they performed marching up Cumberland Avenue to Bill Woods Park. They have a lot of talent musicians there.
At 11 a.m., the Williamsburg High School Choir will perform followed by the Williamsburg High School Band at 11:30 a.m. If you are downtown Friday morning, you can also check out the garden show and canning contest entries. We have some people with an impressive green thumb around here.
There is some very good entertainment lined up for this year’s festival each evening, who I have personally enjoyed watching in years past.
Low Down South will play at 6 p.m. Thursday. They have a good southern rock sound.
The headliners on Friday and Saturday night are two local bands.
County Wide will headline Friday night’s entertainment at 8 p.m.
There isn’t much disputing that County Wide is by far the best-known local act in our region. They have been around for several years now. I have never seen these guys put on a bad show. They are fun to watch.
Paint Creek will headline Saturday night’s entertainment at 8 p.m. This is a band that I like every bit as well as County Wide. They have not been around as long, but I really enjoy their sound.
If music isn’t your thing, then you can check out the antique car show Saturday morning, which will take place in the parking lot of the Whitley County Judicial Center.
You can also take part in a pair of corn toss tournaments Saturday. The Sid Strunk Memorial Corn Toss Tournament will have registration at 11 a.m. followed by the tournament at noon. Then the Reclaiming Futures Corn Toss Tournament will take place with registration starting at 1:30 p.m. and the tournament taking place at 2 p.m. For those that don’t know, Reclaiming Futures is the juvenile drug court program, which is spearheaded by Whitley District Judge Cathy Prewitt.
There are many great things to enjoy about Old Fashioned Trading Days. I would encourage everyone to get out and take part in it. There is a little something for everyone.
Before I conclude this column, let me offer a reminder to folks that they may want to seek some alternative routes in downtown Williamsburg later this week as some streets will be closed due to the festival.
Street closures for Old Fashioned Trading Days began Tuesday evening and will run through the conclusion of the festival on Saturday, Sept. 6.
Streets that will be closed include Main Street from Second Street to Fourth Street, Sycamore Street (which is between the courthouse and the old post office) from Second Street to Third Street, Cumberland Avenue from Fifth Street to Second Street, and Third Street from Cumberland Avenue to Sycamore Street.
