VINTON, Va. – Vinton’s largest and longest-running festival is back for its 68th year.
The Dogwood Festival is the town’s largest and longest-running festival. What used to be a six-day event has moved to just two days and it all kicked off on Friday night with a concert.
The concert was not a dry one though as showers were on and off throughout the evening. The rain didn’t stop people from coming out to enjoy the festival.
Robert Francisco has gone to the festival for more than 20 years. He said the rain at last year’s festival didn’t stop him then, so it wasn’t going to stop him this year either.
“It rains about every year for the Dogwood festival. You just got to go with the flow,” Francisco said.
Friday tends to be the less crowded day with just the concert and a few vendors in the Vinton Farmer’s Market parking lot. Saturday however can bring thousands of people to the festival.
One of the organizers, Mary Beth Layman, said it can bring familiar faces and some new ones.
“The people who have either grown up in Vinton, currently live in Vinton ... they’re proud of the festival. They appreciate that it takes place and there is a sense of reunion. Also, there’s a celebration of meeting new friends,” Layman said.
Saturday is jam-packed with events throughout the day including a parade, a car show, virtual reality games, and over 100 vendors from local and valley businesses.
Big Belly Pizza is gearing up for its third Dogwood Festival. Manager Rita Faltas looks forward to all the new customers that come in and get to try a slice.
“Whenever they close these two streets it actually brings us a lot of people. A lot of new customers and old customers are coming back. It’s usually because the streets are closed up, people want something local and when they come in they usually like the food and they come back all the time,” Faltas said.
Overall the event costs about $50,000 to put on. It’s not necessarily about breaking even for organizers and the town of Vinton, rather it’s about showcasing what it has to offer.
Some of the revenue from the festival go toward scholarships. One will be awarded to whoever is crowned Dogwood Queen and the other two go to high school students that manage the Dogwood Festival website.