2024 Covered Bridge Days closes out on Sunday
Published 5:05 pm Monday, September 23, 2024
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/Carson Peters and his group Iron Mountain had everyone toe-tapping on Saturday evening.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/A large crowd gathers for Saturday evening festivities, which included Ricky Skaggs, Kentucky Thunder, and fireworks.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/Almost every inch of Covered Bridge Park was filled for Saturday night's Ricky Skaggs concert and fireworks.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/An attendee worships during a song performed by Southern gospel artist Jason Crabb.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/The summer-like heat this weekend had many looking for ways to cool off, including enjoying snow cones.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/A young entrepreneur sets up a stand on the Doe River Bridge on Sunday.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/This young man tries to hit a ball being lifted by air.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/Watts Dance Studio entertained festivalgoers on Saturday afternoon on the Doe River Bridge.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/A pair of attendees clap along to the music from the Main Stage at Covered Bridge Park.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/This young tyke tries to convince the judges that he deserves to be crowned King for his age group.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/Smiles were plentiful this weekend during Covered Bridge Days.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/A young lady attempts to complete a course designed to simulate impaired driving using special goggles.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/A young man leaps high to clear the rotating bar on this inflatable set up during Covered Bridge Days.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/Southern gospel artist Jason Crabb performs Sunday to close out Covered Bridge Days.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/Disney characters greeted kids at Kids Island on Sunday.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/Karlee Lloyd won her age division at the Miss Covered Bridge Pageant on Saturday. Lloyd handmade the dress she wore to win her title.
Photo by Ivan Sanders/Star Correspondent/Bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs returned to town for Saturday night's Covered Bridge Days concert, followed by fireworks.
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STAR CORRESPONDENT
The 2024 Covered Bridge Days celebration ended this year’s run on Sunday as vendors packed up what remained of their wares and Southern Gospel artist Jason Crabb closed out the entertainment on the main stage at Covered Bridge Park.
It was a weekend that was graced by hot, dry weather that aided in bringing out a large number of people for all three days of the festival.
Friday night saw Daniel Grindstaff take the stage to kick off the lineup of entertainment put together by the Elizabethton Parks and Recreation Department.
Saturday featured renowned Bluegrass artist Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder who was greeted by a large crowd of fans who came to both see Skaggs and watch the fireworks show afterward.
Prior to Skaggs taking the stage, local favorite Carson Peters had the crowd begging for more at the end of his set as Peters ended up having to do an encore for all the fans. He shared both bluegrass classics along with gospel tunes including one off his newest release entitled Heaven or Hell.
Other performers during the event included Bullseye Band, Don and Ella Derby, Joyful Hearts, Powershift, Stemwinder, and Hi-Test Bluegrass.
In between all the music going on, there were so many activities that it was hard to keep up with them all.
Kids were enjoying their time at Kid’s Island where there were several inflatables available to play on. Also, there were magic shows and characters that had the smaller children screaming with glee including the Disney characters on Sunday.
There was a foam party and also a bucking bull for those brave enough to climb on board.
The Mr. and Miss Covered Bridge Days took place on Saturday on the Doe River Bridge with several contestants vying for the title. Later in the day, dance teams took to the bridge to provide entertainment for those in attendance.
Sunday, the Doe River Bridge was filled with young entrepreneurs presenting items for sale as they explore what it’s like to have a business at a young age.
Food trucks were on hand to make sure everyone who had a hungry stomach could find something while enjoying the festivities.
Nearly 150 vendors also were busy filling their coffers as attendees were busy selecting items ranging from crocheted items, wreaths, paintings, salsa, Christmas ornaments, fall crafts, candles, soap and much, much more.
“We had a really, really good weekend,” said Kelli Tolley, who had set up a booth to sell handmade wreaths. “It was what I was hoping for. I had a lot of people asking about Tennessee wreaths. I will have to have more of those for my next show.”
“I had to pop popcorn all day on Saturday and had my table stacked high all day,” said food truck vendor Trent Blevins. “We had some balloons with lights inside them that the kids went crazy over and bought all I had. It was a good weekend for us…we are very happy.”
By the smiles on everyone’s face over the weekend, the 2024 Covered Bridge Days will go down in the archives as a highly successful event.
