The 31^st annual Summer Festival was in full swing Saturday, showcasing a variety of events, vendors and music to appeal to residents from all walks of life.

Friday night’s events were challenged by inclement weather, but that did not stop the crowds of eager residents from showing up Saturday to enjoy the festival’s offerings. Work is done year-round to plan the popular Beaufort County festival, said Washington Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce Business Manager Robin McKeithan.

“We can’t control the weather, but we have done the best we can,” McKeithan said. “Friday night, weather was an issue, but we have been looking forward to a great Saturday and Sunday.”

McKeithan said the festival, sponsored by local organizations and residents, including PotashCorp of Aurora, offers several opportunities to enjoy live music free of charge. The festival is hosting the North Carolina Symphony and the Emerald City Big Band on Sunday evening and several local acts performing live in Festival Park on Saturday night, including K-OS, CAPS, and the Mikele Buck Band.

Participants will also be able to learn how to play a wide variety of instruments, McKeithan said. There is an instrument demonstration and an opportunity to receive hands-on experience and instruction Sunday night at 6 p.m. with the Instrument Zoo at Festival Park.

 

McKeithan said over 45 local vendors are in attendance as well as a variety of local nonprofits who come out to connect with the community and raise funds for their causes. Washington Assembly presented a puppet show to festivalgoers, targeting youth in attendance at the festival. Pastor Steve Evans said the church hopes to familiarize the community with the church.

“The puppet shows is showcasing the youth involvement in our church and also the ministry available to younger kids in our church,” Evans said. “We also have a video playing that is familiarizing the community with our various outreaches within the community.”

The church has played a big role in disaster relief from the April 25 tornadoes that affected numerous county residents. Evans said they are partnering with other churches to bring Convoy of Hope to Washington, a day in which low-income families can come out and receive free health screenings, hair cuts and gain access to other resources and services in the community.

Vidant Beaufort Hospital was also in attendance, offering free blood pressure screenings and ‘My Chart,’ an online patient portal for people to access their health records, said Pam Shadle, manager of Marketing and Public Relations for the hospital.

One of the main attractions of this year’s festival is the North Carolina Dock Dogs competition. The competition brought dogs from the region to the festival to compete in jumping competitions, gauging both the length and height of the dogs’ jumps. One team in the competition, Deb Fowler, of Charleston, S.C. and her dog, Doni, competed in the vertical jump competition Saturday afternoon. Doni jumped a total of four feet, eight inches in the first round of the vertical jump.

Neil Woolard, Dock Dogs chairman for the festival, said the competition being held at the festival is a “match made in heaven.”

“We have people coming out here to the 31^st year of the festival and see the dogs in its attraction, they feed off each other,” Woolard said. “Around noon, there were almost 300 people standing all around here, just giving it the devil. It was just fun, fun, fun.”

Today, the festival will continue to host the Dock Dogs competition from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.