40th Annual Old Fashioned Trading Days set for this weekend

The 40th Annual Old Fashioned Trading Days is set to take over downtown Williamsburg from Thursday through Saturday, with this year’s event expected to be the biggest one ever.

Food vendors and booths are expected to be set up Wednesday, though the festivities officially kickoff Thursday with activities beginning at 3 p.m. when Kathy Lay presents a free art class on stage two, which will be located on Main Street, and music beginning at 4 p.m. with the Level Green Boys Gospel Group on stage one, which will be located near Bill Woods Park.

Stage one will largely feature gospel and bluegrass music, with stage two mostly hosting country and rock music.

Other acts scheduled for Thursday evening include the Higher Ground Singers and Adam Crabb on stage one, with Low Down South and 8 Daze Sober on stage two.

Registration for the yearly garden and canning contests begins Friday and is open from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Judging is scheduled to follow at 11 a.m. and contestants can pick up their entries between 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

On stage one, Whitley Central Intermediate fifth graders will perform at 10 a.m., followed by the University of the Cumberlands Band at 10:30 a.m. At 11 a.m. the Williamsburg High School Choir will perform followed by the Williamsburg High School Band at 11:30 a.m.

Gospel music will resume on stage one at 4 p.m. with Straight Creek, while ventriloquist Ron Lighty takes stage two at 3 p.m. County Wide will wrap up the night on stage two beginning at 8 p.m.

Saturday’s festivities kick off with a car show that will take place from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the parking lot of the Whitley County Judicial Center.

Starting at 10 a.m. on stage two, there will be a beauty pageant for contestants ages 0-18, followed by a performance from the Dance Centre at 11 a.m.

Registration will start at 1:30 p.m. for the Sid Strunk Memorial Corn Toss Tournament, with play beginning at 2 p.m.

Music for the evening begins at 4 p.m. on both stages. On stage one, His Heart takes the stage first, followed by The Believers, The Freemans, The Whisnants and Jeff Tolbert and Primitive Road.

Bobby Hamblin and the Lawless open up for stage two, with performances from Pistol Whip, Zac Hart Band and Paint Creek following.

In preparation for getting the various stalls, vendors and stages set up, Main Street will be closed to traffic beginning at midnight Tuesday, Sept. 5. The one-block portions of Third Street that intersect with Main Street will also be closed at that time.

Cumberland Avenue will be closed from Fourth Street to Second Street. That closing will begin Thursday evening once the school bus routes have finished. Sycamore Street will also be closed this year from Second Street to Third Street.

Williamsburg Tourism Director Alvin Sharpe said that the additional closures are due to the festival’s growth.

“This is the biggest one we’ve ever had,” said Sharpe. “We got more vendors than we’ve ever had, we got more food trucks than we’ve ever had.”

For more information about Old Fashioned Trading Days, call (606) 549-0530 or 1-800-552-0530.