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 Todd Wetherington | Daily Herald Members of the Myrick School of Dance Clogging Team raised their hats and kicked up their heels during their performance at Saturday's first Valleyfest celebration. |
No one new what to expect for the first-ever Valleyfest celebration.
This was, after all, unknown territory for all of them. Plans had been made and deadlines had all been met, but everyone wondered if the people would actually come to the event. As it turned out, there was no need to worry. By the official 10 a.m. start, crowds were already showing up. By 11 a.m., the 900 to 1100 blocks of the Avenue were full and the nervous smiles had become beaming, confident grins.
“What I love is there are so many smiles!” Valleyfest 2007 Chairperson Terry Harris said. “It's been awesome! I can't believe the crowd. I actually had to park my golf cart because I can't get it through the crowd.”
Patsy Ray, owner of the Cuckoos Nest on U.S. Highway 158, had a booth in the middle of the Avenue. When the event started, she had a full booth, but by 2 p.m., it looked as if she had packed up to leave.
“We've sold three pages of receipts,” she said with a tired smile, “but I'd love to just sell everything so I don't have to move it. This has absolutely been a success. We could use some more venders, but it is just going to keep getting bigger and better every year.”
At the Carolina Crossroads booth, Elizabeth Branham and friends stayed busy answering questions about upcoming shows.
“This is a fabulous event; people from all over the area have finally been able to come together and see just what the Valley has to offer everyone,” she said during a short break.
A little further down the block, Joy Pepper, owner of Pepper's Antiques on Highway 158, stood smiling in front of her display area.
“We haven't sold as much as I'd hoped, but I think this was a big success. We've gotten a huge amount of exposure for the store,” she said.
Two stages offering live entertainment were positioned at either end of the festival area and stayed busy constantly.
The south stage, located in the 1100 block, featured mostly musicians and bands.
The north stage, in front of the Daily Herald in the 900 block, had just about every kind of entertainment imaginable, from some of the South Stage musicians to wonderful dance groups from Myrick's Dance, and singer Jessica Mitchell.
While all the dancers were extremely well received, the youngest from Julie's Taps N Tutus were just plain adorable and the audience let them know.
Several times during the day, the area in front of the north stage was shoulder to shoulder all the way across the avenue and people had to actually go around the block to get headed back toward the south stage.
The main children's play area was hopping all day long. PartyTown's giant inflatables usually had lines of kids waiting for their turn as parents readied their cameras.
Java Junction, located just about in the middle of the children's play area, became one of the most popular stops, serving hot dogs to the kids and their parents on the street, while others cooled off inside watching people sing karaoke.
Most visitors just seemed to enjoy walking up and down Roanoke Avenue, recognizing old friends and neighbors they hadn't seen in years.
One long-time resident said the Avenue had become stale in the last decade, but Saturday's festival had re-energized the town.
Roanoke Rapids police officers Ken Byrd and John Taylor rode their bicycles up and down the Avenue until the crowds got too thick.
“There are so many people here, it's hard to ride the bicycles,” Byrd said. “I think it's a good sign of what Roanoke Rapids is going to be like in the future.”
“We're very pleased; we've had no problems, none at all,” Taylor added with a wave of his arm.
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