Covered Bridge Days 2024 kicks off for fun-filled weekend
Published 2:26 pm Friday, September 20, 2024
Photo by Ivan Sanders/A vendor shows off a balloon ornament made with a 3-D printer.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/This vendor was busy getting the last of her items out for display before the opening of the vendor's tents on Friday.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/This vendor had hand-painted cups and mugs for sale.
Photo by Ivan Sanders A vendor straightens shirts before hanging them on a rack.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Crocheted items filled this vendor's tent ready to be taken home.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Handmade aprons and pocketbooks will be available for purchase at Covered Bridge Days.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Vendors offered many items including several for fall and Halloween.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/A vendor with the DalisJade tent was excited to get the Covered Bridge Days kicked off on Friday morning.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Whitson & Co. was ready to welcome visitors on Friday morning.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Just one of the beautiful hand-made creations offered at Covered Bridge Days vendor tents.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Vendors were busy getting everything set up for Friday morning's first day of the Covered Bridge Days festival.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/A vendor does pre-show inventory before opening shop on Friday morning.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Visitors will have an opportunity to take advantage of plants for their home gardens.
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STAR CORRESPONDENT
One of the most anticipated events of the year for the downtown Elizabethton area kicked off on Friday morning as Covered Bridge Days 2024 opened its arms wide to welcome vendors, entertainers, and the public.
As vendors were putting the final touches on their tents to showcase their home-made goods, the staff and crew of the City of Elizabethton Parks and Recreation Department were still busy scurrying around to make sure everything was falling into place for the three-day event.
“I don’t believe people understand how much it takes to pull an event like this off,” said Parks and Recreation Director David Nanney, who was still running errands to pick up odds and ends Friday morning.
“We are still working to get everything in place and making sure everyone is accommodated as best we can. We have somewhere around 150 vendors this year. When we took over we had like 20, but as time has passed those numbers have doubled every year.”
Evidence of that can be found on the 600 block of Elk Avenue where tents lined the middle of the street back to back to the traffic light at Sycamore Drive.
Trucks sat up on the Doe River Bridge for the Touch a Truck event on Friday including fire trucks, the new automated trash sideloader, tractors, backhoes, and more.
Food trucks will be offering an array of offerings throughout the weekend from pizza to cotton candy and popcorn.
The main stage came alive Friday afternoon with Stemwinder, Hi-Test Bluegrass, and Daniel Grindstaff closing out the evening.
Taking the stage on Saturday will be Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder along with local favorite Carson Peters.
The festival will close out on Sunday when Christian artist Jason Crabb performs at 4:30 p.m.
