The 49th Covered Bridge Celebration is only a few weeks away.
The festival will be held from June 10-13 and offers a full schedule of music, entertainment and vendors.
“We are excited about it,” Chamber of Commerce Director Tonya Stevens said. “It was a lot of hard work to get to this point. We are sure it will be a great festival.”
Wednesday night is Gospel Night and entertainment will feature gospel bluegrass and contemporary Christian music. The headliner for the night will be Trey Heffinger, formerly of “Echoing Angels.”
“The night will include traditional gospel music, bluegrass gospel and contemporary Christian,” Stevens said. “It will be a good mix and we encourage all of our local churches to come out and be a part of it.”
Thursday night is Bluegrass Night with headliners Jeff Little and Wayne Henderson. Friday entertainment is Country Night with headliner Brad Puckett. Saturday is Rock Night and will feature headliner Justin Teseniar, who will perform covers of both current and classic rock music.
One new aspect of the festival is the non-profit nights to be held on Wednesday and Thursday, June 10-11. Twenty local non-profit agencies will be set up at the festival to share information about what they offer along with offering items for sale to fundraise for their organizations. The change came about as a way to benefit both the vendors and the local community.
“We know there are many nonprofits in the community that do so many good things,” Stevens said. “By having the focus on them for Wednesday and Thursday night, we can give them exposure and raise awareness for what they do.”
Stevens said the change came after talking to the arts and crafts vendors, especially those who had to travel for longer distances. She said those vendors said the cost to travel and participate in the first two days was more than the money they made during the festival.
Around 30 arts and crafts vendors have signed up to be a part of the Covered Bridge Celebration. Vendors will offer products ranging from handmade cloth items, crochet and knit items, jewelry, decorative pieces, soaps, woodcarved items and others.
The vendors will be set up on Edward’s Island this year, which is different from in previous years.
The change was made because the Covered Bridge Park will be the focus point for entertainment. Marketplace resale vendors will be set up on Elk Avenue from the Monument to the bridge, and Kid’s Island will be set up on E St. near the food court and the public parking lot.
Saturday events will include the annual 5k run/3k walk sponsored by Sycamore Shoals Hospital; the E Street yard sale and the Little Mr. and Mrs. Hillbilly Contest.
Volunteer opportunities are still available for those that would like to help out during the festival, Stevens said.
For more information, call the Chamber of Commerce at 547-3850. Applications are also available online at www.elizabethtonchamber.com