HAMLET — Halloween will be one of the busiest days of the year for the “little town that does,” but ghosts and goblins won’t have much to do with it.
Saturday will mark the 33rd annual Seaboard Festival on Main Street in downtown Hamlet. The festival, which celebrates Hamlet’s heritage as the “Hub of the Seaboard,” is always held on the last Saturday in October.
It began in 1982, according to the city of Hamlet’s website, as a display of railroad memorabilia on Main Street sponsored by what was then known as Richmond Technical College as part of a study on railroad history and its impact on Southern culture. Its popularity prompted a group of civic-minded residents to make it an annual event.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Halloween, rain or shine, the Seaboard Festival will feature more than 200 vendors, carnival and fair-style food, dancing, entertainment, craft demonstrations, a car show, 5K run and the Conductor’s Call contest with cash prizes.
Although a lot of people come to the Seaboard Festival to get early Christmas shopping done, check out the museum, train-spot or to try out some fair-style food, some show up for the fellowship.
It’s become an unofficial homecoming weekend for former and current residents of Richmond County and is a chance for people to catch up with one another.
Last year, folks from all parts of Richmond County as well as throughout the Sandhills area got plenty of exercise making their way up and down the street checking out booths featured by groups such as Richmond Community College, Pee Dee Electric and the Hamlet Police Department, enjoying all types of food such as jumbo hot dogs, snow cones, deep-fried candy bars and funnel cake, perusing local crafters’ booths and perhaps purchasing something for a friend or loved one.
Among the thousands of items for sale were many handmade gifts such as birdhouses, soaps and lotions, handbags, scarves, wreaths and jewelry.
Gene Ross, a former CSX employee for 34 years and a Hamlet firefighter for 30, had a steam engine on hand that he built in 2005. The engine by itself would be fitting for the Seaboard Festival, but Ross’s creation, which took a year and a half to build, also has two cookers on the front end for barbecue. The smoke rises out of the smokestack, of course.
To start the day’s festivities, the Seaboard Festival’s 5K will begin at 8 a.m., and new race director Duke Smith has tried to make the race more popular among county residents by incorporating the town’s railroad history.
“I like history. With it being the seaboard and that being the history of Hamlet and Seaboard Railroad, what I wanted was to get that race back to its roots,” said Smith. “I’m trying to get everything back to being themed around the Seaboard Railroad. We have some nice custom race medals for the runners that have the Hamlet Depot on them. Just nice little things like that to keep it centered around the railroad.”
Perhaps the biggest attraction during the day last year was the mechanical bull. A newcomer to the festival last year and situated right in the middle of all the action, the bull attracted a large crowd for the entire day as young and old attempted to stay on for more than a few seconds.
With everything the Seaboard Festival has to offer, the food remains a top attraction. Several churches provided eats and treats, especially the famous collard sandwich which has become a staple in Hamlet on the last Saturday in October. Lines for teriyaki chicken on a stick and other fair-style food formed dozens of yards down the street. From one end of Main Street to the other, everyone’s noses were leading them to their destinations.
The annual Conductor’s Call contest will have separate divisions for children and adults. Just like last year’s contest, contestants will bellow their best “All aboard!” for the crowd. In 2014, the kids’ portion seemed to be based on who could yell the loudest, but the adults took it a little further.
Some included towns and cities where the train would be going, some had accessories such as a lantern and Ron Mayo, the winner of the adult group, preceded his call with the sound of a train provided by his cellphone. The first-, second- and third-place winners for both groups will all receive cash prizes.
Local officials were very pleased with how everything went and with the day itself.
“It was a very great event,” said Hamlet city councilman and mayor pro-tem Johnathan Buie. “The weather turned out very nice. I was fortunate to be in the dunking booth to help raise money for communities and schools.”
Mayor Bill Bayless, who officially opened the Seaboard Festival for the day at 9 a.m. in front of the Hamlet Depot, echoed Buie’s comments.
“The Seaboard Festival is a big day for the city,” he said. “It’s a wonderful way for people to get together, and the crowd was tremendous. I really appreciate the people that put all this together. It’s a yearlong planning event.”
Hamlet City Manager Marcus Abernethy’s first year on the job began right before last year’s Seaboard Festival, so he was able to be more of a spectator than an event coordinator. That will change this year, he said, as he will be able to delegate some on how the festival runs. It’s still going to be a monumental year in his mind.
“The Seaboard Festival is a part of who we are and one event that we are most known for,” Abernethy said. “It really brings us together and celebrates the fact that we live in Hamlet. It’s going to be a really exciting year.”
Reach reporter Matt Harrelson at 910-817-2674 and follow him on Twitter @mattyharrelson.
