New Vendors at the Festival

We find many of the same local artisans with booths at our downtown festivals.  We have several potters who display their works and sometimes demonstrate throwing pots at the booth.  Quilters and knitters are very common as well.  This year we had several vendors new to the festival.

[You may want to click to enlarge the photographs]

This potter had not previously had a booth.

 There were two booths with sweetgrass baskets and bowls.  Most people think of these as Gullah baskets from the coast in lower SC and GA.  One of the vendors was, in fact, from Charleston, SC.  But many people do not realize that we have sweetgrass along the rivers here in the mountains.  The Cherokee have made sweetgrass baskets for centuries.  We also have river cane which is stripped for baskets as well.  It seems surprising to see stands of bamboo growing along the river in the mountains.

Lovely sweetgrass baskets

 One booth featured glass birdbaths, something I've never seen before.  They would certainly add color to your yard.

 Glass birdbaths

 Not all the vendors were new.  The ubiquitous funnel cakes and sno cones were right at hand. along with many of the "fair" favorites.

It was such a nice day.  We met lots of our friends and acquaintances strolling the street or manning the booths.

Small Town Fourth

Like most towns and cities, we have an Independence Day festival downtown.  We go down to all the festivals to look at the displays and purchase from local craft vendors.  We go down early before the large crowds.  Large crowd is a relative term in small towns.  Makes us miss the children's parade, but at least it isn't crowded.  Music filled the air and the mood was as festive as the displays.

It was a beautiful day in the mountains.  Clear with just-right temperatures and low humidity.

A view down one of the streets

 I can't believe we passed up the chance to get this mystic clay that cures most ills.

 At first we thought this was for display purposes.  But then we saw the EMTs assisting a fallen vendor.
We hope the injury was minor.

 Yes, Virginia.  We do have some Democrats in Transylvania County

 The Republican Party booth is usually very crowded.  Notice the period dress.

There was no Tea Party booth this year.  I think they lent their costumes to the Republicans.

Many of the non-profit vendors were handing out free bottles of water.  I especially like the one from the Episcopal church.  The label listed the top ten reasons to become an Episcopalian.  Number ten?  "You don't have to handle rattlesnakes."

We by-passed the festival food, amazed at the number of people eating heavy greasy food so early in the morning.  We strolled along and looked at all the displays, bought a few things and were home by 11:00.  The weather remained perfect and we had a great day.