Show goes on at AV Mountain Music Festival – Daily Journal Online
Show goes on at AV Mountain Music Festival Daily Journal Online
George Portz and the Friends of Bluegrass entertain the crowd at the Arcadia Valley Mountain Music Festival on Saturday on the grounds of the Iron County Courthouse.
Arcadia Valley Junior Fall Festival Queen Candidate Makayla Keesee poses for a selfie after the parade on Saturday.
Despite having to cancel in the spring due to the pandemic, the Arcadia Valley Fall Mountain Music Festival went ahead as scheduled on Friday and Saturday on the grounds of the Iron County Courthouse.
And the organizers were pleased with the result.
“It was a fantastic turnout,” said Carol Kelsheimer, the chairperson for the vendors at the festival. “People were waiting in line to get something to eat. I think everybody (the vendors) did very well. The music was great and the weather was beautiful. We had a wonderful crowd.”
The festival is organized by the Arcadia Valley Chamber of Commerce.
The 94th annual Arcadia Valley Fall Festival parade was also on Saturday morning with Broadway-themed floats made by the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
“The floats were wonderful,” Kelsheimer said. “With COVID and the way everything’s been with some students doing their schooling at home, I wondered how that would all work out. But they did a fantastic job.”
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Kelsheimer said having the parade crowd around the courthouse gives the music festival crowd a boost.
The floats were themed “Wicked” for the freshman class, “Titanic” for the sophomore class, “Annie” for the junior class, and “Beetlejuice” for the senior class. Coronation of the fall festival queen was moved to Oct. 30 at 7 p.m., with voting from 6-7 p.m.
Queen candidates are Taylor Lorenz, Savannah Jones, Makayla Keesee, and Alesica Henson.
Festival-goers heard bluegrass, country, and gospel music from bands including, Dawson Hollow, George Portz and Friends of Bluegrass, Logan Creek Band, Po’Anna Bluegrass Band, Rising Son, BTR, and Hand Picked Youth Bluegrass Band. There was also a fiddle contest.
Kelsheimer said she was also pleased with the number of vendors that turned out for the festival, which included an art display by Tangleworks, information about 4-H, and a wildflower artisan, plus a variety of food trucks.
“We had a big variety of things and a big variety of items for sale by vendors, a lot of wood crafts, sewing, and things like that,” she said.
Sponsors for the event included Great Southern Bank, The Arcadian Academy of Music, The Baptist Home – Arcadia Valley and First State Community Bank.
Nikki Overfelt is a reporter for the Daily Journal. She can be reached at noverfelt@dailyjournalonline.com.
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