Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Forest Festival Is Oct. 30

On Oct. 30, 1999, Gurdon will be officially closed.

But, there's no call for concern, as this happens every year on the last Saturday in October. The city closes down for the annual Forest Festival.

Thousands of visitors will flood Main Street visiting the more than 100 arts and crafts displays and food vendors.

The festival is based on the very reason Gurdon was founded  the timber industry, and will feature plenty of logging contests.

First, though, the fun will start early with the Rotary Club Pancake Breakfast. This will begin at 6:30 a.m. at the Gurdon Senior Adult Center.

Once the visitors have been sated with breakfast, the booths will open at 8 a.m.

Also about this time, the annual Eric Griffin Memorial Run will take place, giving those of a more active nature the chance to burn off some of their excess energy.

At 9 a.m., for those less energetic, the annual antique car show will begin. There is a $15 entry fee for anyone wanting to put their vehicle in the contest.

When the clock hits 10 a.m., all other activity will stop as the Forest Festival Parade begins and wraps around the city's downtown area.

Once the parade ends, the patrons can return to milling around the many booths and vendors, looking for one-of-a-kind items and bargains.

This year, the logging contests have been moved from the Front Street area to downtown where the old cleaner's used to be. This will keep all events fairly centrally located for the festival.

At noon, the official welcoming will occur, with those politicians wanting to getting the chance to give speeches.

From there, the rest of the afternoon will have the stage used for entertainment. Local performers will perform throughout the day, with a featured attraction sure to please those on hand.

Mike Eudy and the Heathens a hillbilly band, will spend a solid half-hour playing down-home native Arkansas hill music.

The entertainment will slow down around 4 o'clock when the Community Development and Entertainment (CD&E) Club holds its annual auction. Money raised from this event is used for scholarships for a Gurdon High School student, as well as to help the Gurdon schools purchase equipment.

After the auction, the younger set will take control as it will be time for the judging of the Halloween costumes.

Once this is complete there will be a couple of hours for the festival goers to rest up before the street dance starts at 7 p.m. This year Bruce Webb and the Mountain Dew Band will be the featured performers.

Freddie Horne, festival director, said the event gets a lot of support from local businesses as many close for the day so the streets can be blocked off for the festival.

"This is one of the best festivals in the south part of the state," Horne said. Visitors from neighboring states will show up on Oct. 30, coming from Mississippi, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas and Missouri.

The carnival for this year's festival, Horne said, will be spread out more to include part of the parking lot across from the First United Methodist Church. It will offer more rides and games, he added.

Last year, some 4,000-plus participated in the event.