Several thousand people pack the streets of downtown Hamlet for its 27th annual Seaboard Festival to celebrate the railroad heritage in the Richmond County area and to reunite with old friends.
“It all went really well,” Amy Guinn, vice-chair for the Seaboard Festival said. “We had a really great crowd.”
Between 16,000 and 20,000 were in attendance throughout the day, according to Nancy Averitte, president of the Seaboard Festival,
With the festivities kicking-off on the rainy side, the majority of the crowd didn’t begin filing into the streets until about 9:30 a.m., after the drizzle tapered-off.
“It was pretty wet at first,” Averitte said. “But it was still a big day.”
According to Guinn, nearly all the vendors who signed up for the festival were present and the events for rest of the day went off with no major issues.
“From who I talked to, most of the vendors had a pretty good day,” Averitte said. “Apple pies, collard sandwiches, pretty much all the food was a big hit.”
The live entertainment this year likewise drew in large crowds to the stage, Averitte said. Everything from gospel acts to local dance troupes conquered stage fright and performed in front of the crowds.
According to Guinn, the car show was held behind the Hamlet Passenger Depot after being moved from its usual location.
“We had more cars than we’ve ever had,” Averitte said.
Beginning around 10 a.m., approximately 90 cars pulled-up to the Seaboard Festival and parked for the exhibition behind the depot.
In addition, new for this year, the Seaboard Festival incorporated a mechanical bull into the mix.
“It went slow enough so the kids could ride it,” Averitte said. “People seemed to really like it.”
The Seaboard Festival Committee will meet for the last time at a wrap-up meeting on Nov. 10 to discuss this year’s festival, improvements that could be made and input from members on the committee.
The committee won’t meet again until January where they will begin discussing the plans for next year’s festival.
The Seaboard Festival is a non-profit function and the proceeds will benefit charities in the local area.
Although the final count is not yet complete for this year, at the next meeting, the Seaboard committee will begin discussing how to allocate the funds to charities.
According to Averitte, last year the festival raised over $10,000 for charities and much of it went to the National Guard soldiers and their families. Also, money went to charities in the Richmond County area like the Humane Society and Backpack Pals.
n Staff writer Bryan Stewart can be reached at 997-3111 ext. 15 or by e-mail at bstewart@yourdailyjournal.com.
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