Local Fest

The Fall fest of Belmont, NC kicked off today. I've lived here since I was born, Same house, same town. I've been to the Fall fest so many times I can hardly remember when I first started. I do remember always wanting to go straight to the sand art booths. I was a little pig-tailed girl when those first started spreading through festivals like wild fire. A few ad's that I have seen all claim "over 100 vendors." I admit I did not count as I walked through, however it only took about 15 mins to walk through and it felt like about 30 vendors, or to be completely honest, 3 vendors over and over again. If your in to hand made jewelry, glass beads, and candles this is defiantly the place to be. If you ever wanted to get back at someone by signing them up for junk main and sales calls in the middle of the night, you've hit the mother load. I don't recommend that, don't do that. It's cruel and unusual even if they did kick your dog. Belmont I will say, has moved away from those completely pointless booths of random companies with large plastic sheet banners trying to entice you into their booths so that they can give you a free pencil and tell you about some company you have never heard of nor have any interest in. There was only 10 or so of these this year. The last Mount Holly fest I went to was about 80% these booths. Even if you had been absolutely set on blowing 50 dollars at that fest you would have been hard pressed to find enough things to buy, unless you wanted 25 hot dogs. I will admit, however, that there is something about walking around outside trying to balance a hot dog and a soda in your hands right at the beginning of fall that makes a 2 dollar hot dog taste amazing. As far as a reason to go out, get the sun in your face and the wind in your hair, sure it's worth a walk through. As far as an event to pack the kids up for and spend 3+ hours at, defiantly not, unless your planning on paying a visit to David Hoyle's booth to shoot the breeze about the local government for 2 of those hours. Maybe we could get a fist fight going between the political campaign booths. I sure am glad they don't charge admittance to these events, but that I may actually pay to see. In the end, it lacks variety and size. The only new thing I witnessed this year was the book-mobile. I will biasly say this was my favorite part because as soon as you sit me down in front of books I'm as content as a dog with a bone. There were slides and a moon bounce for the kiddies, 5 or 6 nostalgic sand art booths (that would be 4 too many) and a local church choir singing gospel on the stage. I'm proud they allowed christian music, however I wish it had been at least more of a band or a little more up beat. It promoted more of a feeling of sit up straight, stop drooling and find your pew ambiance, than a welcome to the party! feeling. Next year lets do something that's worth coming out of your house for. If you visited it in the last 10 years, you have seen it all before.