One of the best free shows east of the Mississippi opened this morning in Hillsville. The 43rd annual Labor Day Gun Show and Flea Market is off to one of its best starts in years. Over 500,000 visitors are expected to flood the tiny town in Carroll County over the next four days. Several thousand vendors located in five main venues have brought everything from treasures to trash for sale. If you can’t find it in Hillsville this weekend, you can probably get along without it.

The overwhelming themes though are guns and food. Both are in plentiful supply. The smell of fried onions and roasting meats permeate the air, and the sight of guns is everywhere.

The number of mannequins around is kind of creepy. This year also features a few side show animals to boot.

The best thing though is the people watching. It doesn’t get any better than here.

Lucy: Aren’t the clouds beautiful? They look like big balls of cotton. I could just lie here all day and watch them drift by. If you use your imagination, you can see lots of things in the cloud’s formations. What do you think you see, Linus?

Linus: Well, those clouds up there look to me look like the map of the British Honduras on the Caribbean.That cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, the famous painter and sculptor. And that group of clouds over there……gives me the impression of the Stoning of Stephen. I can see the Apostle Paul standing there to one side.

Lucy: Uh huh. That’s very good. What do you see in the clouds, Charlie Brown?

Charlie Brown: Well… I was going to say I saw a duckie and a horsie, but I changed my mind.

from “Peanuts” by Charles Schulz

What do you see?

The Stan Massie Band

The Stan Massie Band is an accomplished group of bluegrass musicians who produce a sound that reflects the soul of Appalachia. From tender ballads to gospel to foot stomping picking and singing, this is a band I would happily pay to see, but they don’t play for money. They are a group of friends who get together when they can and play for charities, churches, and local events. I sincerely hope Market Director Suzie Richert can convince them to come back for a repeat performance.

If you’d like to meet practically everyone in the county, just stand next to Sheriff Doug King in public sometime. Everyone seems to know Doug. The charismatic sheriff heads one of the best sheriff’s departments in the country. His department ranks number one in Virginia in stolen vehicle recovery. The complexities of running a modern police agency require Sheriff King to be part policeman, part politician, and part business chief executive officer. It is a job he relishes. He gives credit for a great deal of his success to his deputies. Said Sheriff King, “I’m fortunate to have a great staff. I can’t believe I have such a dedicated group of deputies who are willing to work for so little money. My deputies haven’t had a cost of living increase in four years, and it may be two or three more before they get one.” Thanks to Doug and his Department, Wythe County is still a place where you can leave your door unlocked at night.

Sheriff Doug King listening to constituent concerns

State Senator Roscoe Reynolds came early and stayed late. The Senator moved around the market greeting folks and talking one on one about their concerns like a favored uncle at a family reunion. I’m not a big fan of politicians. I’m a political cynic because I spent too much time working in Washington, DC. Roscoe Reynolds does give me pause though. Senator Reynolds really does seem to give a damn. When Anne wrote his office during the AEP rate increase debate, Senator Reynolds’ office responded quickly with a letter outlining his position, which was followed up by another letter and phone call. You can believe me when I say that doesn’t happen very often.

Senator Roscoe Reynolds discussing an issue with a constituent

Among the other officials present were Fourth District County Supervisor Maggie Poole, Wytheville Mayor Trenton Crewe, and County Commissioner of Revenue “Sis” Cassell.

Supervisor Maggie Poole talking plants and produce with Zack Lynn

State Senator Phil Puckett who was scheduled to appear was a no show.

Wythe County Sheriff Doug King

State Senators Phillip Puckett (left) and Roscoe Reynolds (right)

Also appearing at the Market tomorrow is local bluegrass musician Stan Massie and his band. Stan moonlights as the city building inspector.

The following information and links are what I’ve managed to gather so far. If I come up with any more, I will add them to this post, so you may wish to check back as we get closer to Labor Day.

Dates and Times: Friday, September 3, 2010, thru Monday, September 6, 8:00am – 6:00PM

The main sponsor of the festival is VFW Post 115 (276-728-2911.) Their Flea Market manager is Bill Davis (276-728-5237.) The Gun Show Manager is Melvin Webb (276-728-9810.) Online reservations may be made at cridge1942@comcast.net

Food vendors should contact the Carroll County Health Department (276-728-2166.)

Hundley Flea Market, located directly across the street from the VFW, can be reached by calling 800-672-8093.

Bowman’s Festival Market is located 4 blocks from the VFW site. They may be reached at the following numbers: (276-728-2340), (276-728-4340), or (276-728-2339.)

Click here for info on the The Riley Horne Lot.

The official website for the town, which includes a number of useful links, is www.townofhillsville.com

This information is provided by the Hillsville Chamber of Commerce:
Rules & Regulations:

All vendors are required to have a vendor’s license. The license can be purchased from the person you rent your space from or from the Town of Hillsville office. The cost is based on the size of your space.
Food vendor must register with the Carroll County Health Department. (276-730-3180). Food licenses will be issued upon the completion of their inspection and if they are food certified. All food license must pay an extra $10 on their vendor’s license.
All vendors are responsible for the collection of the Virginia Sales Tax (5%). Forms will be provided by the Town of Hillsville to vendors for this purpose.
All food vendors must collect the local meal tax and pay to the Town of Hillsville by the end of the first month after the event.
Vendor licenses allows them to sale from 7 a.m. Friday to 6 p.m on Monday. Anyone selling before 7 a.m. on Friday are subject to a fine. All merchandise must be keep covered until 7 a.m. on Friday.

I may be assisting one of the food vendors at the Hundley Market, so I hope to see you there.

Here are a few pictures from the last few days. The stripe on the pine tree is from a lightening strike that happened about 20 feet from where I was standing. The aftermath required a change of shorts. And yes, there are real alligators in some of the marshes nearby.

Under the heading “Real Characters”, the lady below is right up there:

It was 33 years ago today in Memphis, Tennessee that Elvis Aaron Presley, the undisputed King of Rock’n'Roll, passed away sitting on a toilet at Graceland, straining for a movement. He was our youth, and we miss him still.

The patrons of the Wytheville Farmer’s Market were treated to a free concert on Saturday, August 7, by the Blue Ridge Travelers, a group of young musicians from Virginia and North Carolina.

The Blue Ridge Travelers and some flat footin' friends

The group consists of Erika Godfrey, 22, Stephanie Gibson, 16, and Jeffrey Roten, 12.

Erika Godfrey, Mt. Airy, NC

Stephanie Gibson, Galax, VA

Jeffrey Roten, Ennice, NC

Erika met Jeffrey when he took her fiddle class through the Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) program. JAM was started in Spring 2000 by Helen White, a traditional musician and a guidance counselor in Alleghany County, North Carolina. The program teaches children the traditional music of Appalachia as well as their heritage and culture. The group came together this past Spring when Jeffrey asked Erika to play with him and his friend Stephanie.

The Blue Ridge Travelers will perform live at the Rex Theater in Galax this coming Friday evening, August 20. The concert will be carried on radio station WBRF 98.1 FM beginning at 8 pm. For those of you who are unable to attend or listen to the show, here is a video of Erika and Dave Wood in their first place performance on twin fiddles at the Laurel Bloomery in August, 2009.