A Golden Anniversary is something to celebrate and this year, the Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce has something special planned as the Covered Bridge Celebration festival marks its 50th year.
This year’s event will span four days and will see quite a few new things as well as feature a variety of entertainment each evening at the Covered Bridge Park stage.
“We are doing a Facebook trivia contest this year,” said Elizabeth White of the Chamber of Commerce. The trivia contest kicked off Friday and will run through Tuesday.
Each day, a new trivia question will be posted on the Chamber’s Facebook page, White said.
“The 50th person who answers the trivia question correctly wins that contest,” White said, adding the number 50 was chosen since this is the 50th anniversary of the celebration.
There will be five daily winners who will be entered into a drawing for a special gift basket made up of donations by local businesses and valued at around $300, White said.
Wednesday and Thursday will turn the spotlight on some of the region’s non-profit organizations and churches. On those evenings, the non-profits will man booths to share information about their programs and services with visitors and some will have merchandise for sale to help raise money for their cause.
Last year marked the first time the festival included a night for non-profits and White said it was a huge success. “We got a lot of positive feedback about non-profit night,” she said. “I think that is my favorite night of the celebration.”
The non-profit vendors will be in the park from 5:30 – 9 p.m. on both Wednesday and Thursday night.
Wednesday night will also feature an Ice Cream Social. This popular event is being sponsored by Food City of Elizabethton and will be held at 6 p.m. in Covered Bridge Park.
“Friday and Saturday will be our full festival,” Chamber Director Tonya Stevens said. “We have lots of new vendors this year.
Both Friday and Saturday will feature a full day of events as the fun gets started early and carries on into the night. On those days, the festival will feature arts and crafts vendors, food vendors, a special marketplace and the ever popular Kid’s Island from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.
“We’ve got some new attractions lined up for Kid’s Island this year,” White said.
On Saturday, there are a lot of extras planned.
The annual Covered Bridge 5K/3K Run-Walk sponsored by Mountain States Health Alliance will be held Saturday morning. Registration begins at 6:30 a.m. at Elizabethton City Hall, located at the corner of Sycamore Street and Hattie Avenue. The Run/Walk will start at 8 a.m.
The Workforce Development Complex, located at 386 Highway 91 in Stoney Creek, will host the Kids’ Catfish Tournament on Saturday morning. The event is jointly sponsored by the WDC and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the tournament kicks off at 9 a.m. and concludes at Noon.
The Community Yard Sale and Antiques event will take place from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. along E Street from Riverside Drive to Sycamore Street.
Greet the morning with a gentle stretch as Elizabethton Yoga hosts Yoga in the Park at 9 a.m. on Saturday in Covered Bridge Park.
The popular Little Mr. & Miss Hillbilly Contest, which is sponsored by Walgreens of Elizabethton, will be held at 11 a.m. in Covered Bridge Park.
Take some time to cool off on Saturday afternoon with Water Wars, which is sponsored by Food City of Elizabethton. The event will take place on Riverside Drive from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday.
“It’s just a big water balloon fight,” White said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The Cruise-In sponsored by the Carter County Car Club will take place along East Elk Avenue in the historic downtown area from 5 – 9 p.m. Saturday night.
Grammy Award winning country music artist Marty Raybon, of Shenandoah, will wind up the concert series Saturday night as he takes the stage from 8:00 – 9:15 p.m.
The grand finale of the celebration will be a fireworks show, which will begin after Raybon finishes his performance.
“They will be shooting the fireworks from the top of Lynn Mountain,” White said, adding the sponsor for the fireworks show is SnapOn Tools. “We are so, so very grateful to them for sponsoring this. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to do it.”
For more information on the festival, contact the Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce at 423-547-3850 or visit them online at www.elizabethtonchamber.com