Press release from the city of Morganton:
Join Morganton in celebrating 37 years of the Morganton Festival sponsored by Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge! The free festival features free music all day plus national country acts, a NEW Indie Stage, Kid Zone fun with rides and games, and food for all ages, plus over a mile and a half of arts & craft vendors from all over the country!
This is your invitation to “come and play in the streets” of downtown Morganton during the 37th Annual Morganton Festival presented by Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge on September 7 & 8! Famous for its mile and a half of arts and crafts, the Morganton Festival always offers free outdoor concerts, featuring local favorite Throwdown Jones on Friday night and national Country Music Star Chris Lane for the finale Satur- day. Stay connected to www.morgantonfest.org for the latest news and information.
The FULL event kicks off on Friday, September 7 at noon when over 200 craft vendors line the courthouse square, Green Street, Union Street and Sterling Street offering a plethora of art, jewelry, woodworking, jewelry, pottery, soap, candles, clothes and more! Be sure to come hungry because the infamous Food Court tempts your taste buds with succulent aromas of gyros, BBQ, “chicken on a stick”, French pastries, egg rolls, homemade ice cream and much, much more.
The ever popular Kids Zone and Teen Zone will open with ticketed rides and games along with the FREE craft area known as Litter Critters, for children, grades 5th and under. The Festival presents roving acts which fea- ture magic tricks, balloon twisting, unicyclists and much, much more! For a full lineup, visit www.morganton- fest.org. For teens and fun-loving adults, the Teen Zone features a Volcano Rock Climbing Wall, the Wild West Mechanical Bull, a Water Tag Course, Obstacle Courses, and more.
Friday, the music begins on the brand new Indie Stage in the Beer Garden at 12:00pm with One Leg Up, fol- lowed by Americana singer with dreamy harmonies Earleine. JB & the 70s keeps the party going at the Indie Stage with their eclectic Classic Rock tunes.
After jamming out at the Indie Stage, be sure to walk over to City Stage. TGIF Showdown winners Rooted will showcase their Roots music at 6:30pm. Following Rooted, popular pop/rock Asheville Artist Lyric will hit the City Stage at 8:00p plus, Throwdown Jones will make their City Stage debut Friday night at 9:30pm.
Start Saturday morning at 8:00 am with a 5k or 10k by participating in the Sunrise Run on the Greenway! The Student Fitness Challenge by Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge and 1 mile Fun Run/Walk starts at 9:30am. Students should pre-register with their Physical Education teachers for the Student Fitness Chal- lenge (elementary and middle school’s only); adults can pre-register for the 5k, 10k or 1 mile Fun
Run/Walk on-line at www.morgantonfest.org . The course has been certified and will be chip-timed!If running isn’t your style, try stopping by the Morganton Monster Crossfit Competition across from the County Courthouse on Meeting Street.
After your fitness session, head to the Festival where booths open back up at 9:00am. Yard art, baskets, crafted toys, jellies, wines, distilleries, clothing, carvings, baskets, plants, pottery and lots of jewelry can be discovered over eight city blocks! Civic organizations, crafters, artists and businesses are out on the streets waiting for the ever-popular festival shopper. Throughout the day there are activities for the entire family.
Then at 10:00am be sure to stop by the M.A.D.E. (Morganton, Arts, Design and Engineering) Competition tent located in the grass lot diagonally across from CVS where Burke County Middle and High School teams will be competing in an engineering feat that you will not want to miss.
Music continues all day Saturday on the Indie Stage located in the Beer Garden. Swamp Rabbit Railroad gets the music going at 10:00am followed by Appalachian Reggae group Rastacoustic for some lunchtime tunes. The streets will again heat up in the afternoon with live music from Sycamore Bones and The Clydes.
The crowning of Miss Morganton will take place on City Stage at 5:30pm followed by country band Smith- Field and National Country Music Artist, Chris Lane! In 2017, Chris Lane was nominated by iHeartRadio as the Best New Country Artist AND was nominated New Male Vocalist of the Year at the ACM Awards.
ALL CONCERTS ARE FREE!
Be a part of this memory making event and mark your calendars for a great weekend of fun, September 7 & 8 in downtown Morganton. The festival is an animal-free event and will go on rain or shine. For a complete listing of all the events including the Sunrise Run, MADE, Miss Morganton Pageant, music acts, and more, contact us by phone at 828-438-5252; by email at info@morgantonfest.org; or check out the website www.morgantonfest.org.
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