Madison Heritage Festival - perfect weather, great crowds

By Steve Lawson

Published: October 4, 2008

Madison’s population swelled Saturday as the weather finally cooperated with organizers for the third annual Heritage Festival.

“No one could have planned a more beautiful day for this,“ said Madison Mayor Micky Silvers. “The good Lord certainly gave us exactly what we needed for the festival this year. This is about as close to perfect as it gets.“

After two years of “less than perfect” weather for the town’s growing street festival, the third time turned out to be the charm. Cloudless skies and warm temperatures combined with a record-breaking number and variety of vendors to bring large crowds to downtown Madison.

“I got here pretty early this morning and people were already starting to arrive for the festival,“

Silvers said. “I can’t say enough about the labor of love put in by the festival committee for nearly a

year to put on something this nice. It takes a lot of work behind the scenes to make it all seem so effortless to those of us attending.“

Close friends Mary Bradshaw of Stokesdale and Patty Duncan of Summerfield spent the day browsing among the more than 100 vendors spread along four downtown streets. Duncan said attending street festivals is a favorite pastime for the duo and Madison was among the best.

“This is really a great event this year,“ she said. “They certainly have a big variety of booths to shop at and a lot of things to see and do.“

Duncan found a great orange belt to go with her orange and black Halloween outfit at Kevia Gant’s booth, JAP Marketing from Greensboro. Gant said her company’s aim was to provide affordable jewelry and accessories.

“We just thought it was time women had something to pick from that was fashionable and inexpensive, even though those two things don’t usually go together,“ Gant said.

A favorite stop for most regular attendees of the Madison event is Mac’s Kettle Korn, and Saturday was no exception. Owner Paul McCray could barely keep up with the demand.

McCray said he had only operated the business for five years and did it mostly as a hobby.

“We only do four or five events like this each year,“ he said. “For me, it’s just fun to get out and let people try this corn. I love to watch their face the first time they taste it. That makes it worthwhile to do all the work.“

McCray said he often spends as much as two days cleaning the huge stainless steel kettle he uses after one of these events, but that’s what keeps it looking brand new after five years of service.

“It’s all just about having fun,“ he said.

That was the main point of starting the event, according to Bobby Pleasants, owner of Madison Art and Frame.

“The whole purpose of this event was to give people a reason to come downtown and just enjoy themselves,“ said Pleasants, a member of the festival committee. “I’m just glad we finally had a near perfect day to let that happen. And it looks like everybody is doing exactly what they’re supposed to do - have fun.“

• News Editor Steve Lawson can be reached at or at 548-6047.