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This year’s Trading Days festival gets two thumbs up
The 39th Annual Old Fashioned Trading Days had a nice turnout last week in downtown Williamsburg.
Mark White is Editor of The News Journal.
There seemed to be a pretty good sized crowd when I left Williamsburg late last Thursday afternoon.
Friday morning’s entertainment was nice with the Whitley Central Intermediate School fifth graders back performing renditions of various patriotic songs.
The University of the Cumberlands’ Marching Band was a nice addition as they literally marched down Cumberland Avenue to perform in front of Bill Woods Park. To my knowledge UC’s band had never performed before at Old Fashioned Trading Days, but hopefully this is the beginning of a new tradition.
As always, the Williamsburg Independent School choir and band did a great job performing. Choir Director Jonathan Wyatt seems to be doing a good job getting the choir built back up.
I look forward to seeing how he grows it in future years. I’ve always thought Williamsburg High School was at its best when it had both strong choir and band programs, which it looks like they will have for years to come.
While bluegrass music isn’t really my thing, an exception to that is Tidal Wave Road, which performed to close out entertainment on stage one Friday evening. These guys always have a good sound.
A few years back, Old Fashioned Trading Days added a second stage with country and rock music to go along with the gospel and bluegrass performed on its other stage.
Trevor Sherman assures me that Paint Creek sounded good last Thursday evening while he was down there.
On Friday night, I thought Savanah Faith performed a nice set as always. She was followed by County Wide, which closed out the night’s entertainment on stage two.
County Wide and Paint Creek are two regional bands that have a really nice sound and do great performances.
Williamsburg Tourism Director Alvin Sharpe told me that the crowds on Thursday and Friday night were the largest that he had ever seen at Old Fashioned Trading Days.
The lack of a Friday night football game for Williamsburg and Whitley County high schools probably played at least some role in Friday’s night’s crowd.
I was a little disappointed with the turnout for the car show Saturday morning, but people with antique cars are understandably a little hesitant to bring them out on potentially rainy days and I can’t really blame them.
There were several nice old vehicles down there though. To me, these old cars are really works of art. Some of the details on them are incredible, such as the hood ornaments that are almost miniature statues. These vehicles have character.
Will anyone be clamoring 30 years from now to see a 2022 Ford or Chevy? I kind of doubt it, but I still think there will be interest in the very few 1950’s and 1960’s vehicles still out there in 2052.
Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of Old Fashioned Trading Days, and I can’t wait to see what organizers come up with for it.
Switching topics as I conclude this column, I think it is worth noting that Sunday was the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the plane brought down by some brave passengers in Pennsylvania field before it could strike its intended target.
Whether you are in the military, a police officer, a firefighter, an EMS worker or a rescue squad member, thank you for your service and your dedication to helping keep the public safe.
