Ramble On

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Heritage Fest 2008 - Some Highlights


Last weekend was the Page County Heritage Fest - a crafts fair that is held in Luray each October. This year my sister Nancy and the kids visited us as we took in the sites. More on their visit in the next few days, but for now here are some highlights of the fest.

When you first enter the fairgrounds, you are greated by a display of antique tractors. Most are in working condition although they aren't used for farming any more, since they are kept as hobbies and collectors' items.



This McCormick was actually for sale - asking $6,000; and the Allis-Chalmers above is one of many that was on display. In fact, there is a well-known A-C collector in Luray, who has restored dozens of these vehicles over the last 30 years or so.

In August, an auction was held and the fellow sold many of his restorations, maybe as many as 30, so there are a lot of these pristine tractors showing up around the Valley. Highlights of that sale included one of two remaining A-C road graders...only six were ever made.



Quite a few clubs and associations use the fair for fund raising. Some do raffles, some actually demonstrate their crafts and sell what they make during the fest. There were booths for baking, sewing and quilting, spinning, and heritage writing. Here are two photos of the 4-H apple butter booth (Mary picked up a couple of pint jars as a special request...you know who you are).



Finally, we spent some time in the performance hall watching some local acts. After a blues show, this group of cloggers from the east side of the mountains came on. They boast a membership from ages 3 to 60+ - the group in this photo includes the oldest and youngest members!

There are a lot of photos of the fest in the October 2007 entries - check the index at the right if you are interested.




No comments: