21st Annual Down Home Festival

21st Annual Down Home Festival

Friday, may 8th, 6 pm – 9:30 pm

Saturday, may 9th, 10 am – 5 pm

Gaston County’s Most Popular Spring Festival
Presented by: City of Bessemer City

FESTIVAL FUN - 2009
The 21st annual Down Home Festival offers visitors a chance to enjoy two days of Festival Fun.  Friday night will be Family Fun Night.  “Summerdaze” will again be featured at the Street Dance on Pennsylvania Avenue, beginning at 6:00 PM.  Several local civic organizations will be selling concessions, including pizza, BBQ, hotdogs, and more.  There will be a tethered hot air balloon ride and the evening will end around 9:30 PM with a Fireworks display by Hale Artificer. The rides and amusements will also be open on Friday night, with special armband price of $5.  Ticket sales will operate 5:30 PM –9:00 PM Friday and 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM on Saturday! Saturday will offer an opportunity to visit many vendors, with items for sale, food, crafts, useful information and more.  The Saturday festival hours will be 10:00 AM till 5:00 PM.  There will be entertainment on three stages, including “Summerdaze”, “Loaded Mule”, Kelly Paris and more.  Several local dance teams will entertain.  Delicious burgers, hot dogs, BBQ, cotton candy, funnel cakes, cheesecakes, snow cones and ice cream are just some of the food offered by our vendors. A wide range of crafts will be available and everyone can enjoy face painting, bake sales, useful information and more.   Palmetto Amusements will provide the rides, with the Loop-O-Plane, Zorro Mechanical Bull and Giant Slide being just a few of the rides available. …. Don’t miss out.

ARMBAND SPECIALS
Buy an armband and ride all day!!! The festival amusement ride armbands give children and adults unlimited access to the amusement attractions.  Individual tickets will be available. Armbands will cost $5 for the Friday Family Fun Night and $12 for Saturday.  Bands are not interchangeable.

JAZ ALIVE 5K RACE/WALK
The annual 5K Race is sponsored by the Bessemer City High School Student Government Association. The proceeds raised from the event will be donated to the JAZ Alive Scholarship Fund in memory of Jonathan Lynn, Amber Vasquez and Zachary Elliot. The SGA hopes the community will support the project as a way to honor and respect students lost during the 2007 school year. The race begins at 9 AM and kicks off the festival, featuring a challenging course for advanced and novice runners. Registration fee is $15 before May 5th and $20 after May 5th. Awards will be presented to the winners in a number of categories. Adults and children are welcome. For information call Joe Will at 704-629-9455 after 6:00 PM.

Festival Pageant
The Miss Down Home Festival Queen Pageant will be held on the East Virginia Avenue stage (near Suntrust Bank) at 10:15 AM, with girls from newborn to age 19 competing for titles.  All contestants receive a tiara and the winners become members of the Miss Gastonia Queens Court. Entry fee is $40 prior to May 6th and $45 after May 6th.  For information or an application contact Delores Cox at 704-827-7277, or Todd Hagans at 704-866-6237. Forms are available at City Hall, may be down-
loaded from www.missgastoniapageant.com. The Miss Gastonia Scholarship Association sponsors the pageant with proceeds benefiting the Miss Gastonia scholarship fund.

ENTERTAINMENT
Top quality music and entertainment

FRIDAY – 6 PM – SUMMERDAZE BAND
9:00 PM - FIREWORKS BY HALE ARCTIFICIER
SPONSORED BY PIEDMONT PAVING

SATURDAY
10:00 AM – Opening Ceremonies
Featured entertainment:

Loaded Mule
Kelly Paris & Lost Cause
2 the Extreme
Local Talent and Dance Teams
Ronald McDonald
Variety Show
Crowders Mt. Fire/Rescue Smoke House
DJ Music and more

CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT
The American Cornhole Association will be hosting a Regional Cornhole Tournament featuring players from several states.  The tournament is open to the public.  Cornhole is a  lawn game, similar to horseshoes, played in teams of two. Players pitch corn filled bags onto raised platforms to score points. Team reaching 21 points wins. Teams compete and advance to a final championship.  Locals from the Bessemer City Cornhole League will be competing.

Registration will be on site the day of the event, Saturday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on West Pennsylvania Avenue.  For more information contact Ryan LaBelle at 864-706-2126.

Cornhole is a great spectator sport, be sure to check it out as you visit the festival.

NO DOGS, SKATEBOARDS OR BICYCLES ALLOWED IN FESTIVAL AREA.

FESTIVAL SPONSORS
2009 Festival organizers are grateful to
the following sponsors for their support:
Piedmont Paving of BC
First National Bank
FMC Lithium Corporation
Southern Switchgear
Waste Management
Compliance Training Associates
DentMax
Electricomm Solutions
Susie’s Day Care
Sisk Butler Funeral Home
US Postal Service, BC
David Smith III, Attorney
Hazen & Sawyer, PC
Lithium Federal Credit Union
Neill Grading & Construction
Jaclyn’s Creations
Custom Marking & Printing
Eric’s Paint & Body Shop
Albert’s Laundry
Angel’s Upscale Resale
Andy’s Landscaping & Lawn
Plastic Products
Carolina Electric Motors
A & A Grading & Hauling
Carolina Meter & Supply
Pasour Auto
Carolina Grading & Site Development
Ralph Whitehead & Assoc.
Ryan Harris
SunTrust Bank

Directions & Information
From I-85 take Exit 13; follow Edgewood Road to Bessemer City. Look for festival signs. All activities will be held in the downtown area.  For information call 704-629-5111 or 704-629-5542.