Archive for ◊ July, 2015 ◊

THE BIGGEST EVENT IN SOUTHERN VIRGINIA is HERE!! This year is spectacular and we are inviting you to come, party with us as we celebrate the area’s favorite event here in Virginia’s only Lakeside Town. Below you’ll find detailed information on some of this year’s details; starting Thursday night with our Annual Hot-air Balloon Tethering rides, then Friday we invite you to come to opening ceremonies & finally Saturday, the main day, full of events for the whole family from sunrise to the gathering of the boats & fireworks. Make sure you stay till Sunday year and celebrate “Afterfest” too!

• 2015 Lakefest Schedule
• Tethered hot-air balloon event-Thursday
• Bringing Back the L O V E
• Welcoming Ceremonies-Friday Night
• Musical Guests ~ Friday
• Monstrously Big “Totally Cool” LAKEFEST Raffle
• Juried Arts & Crafts Festival-SATURDAY
• Shuttle & Parking Information
• 5k & Fun Run
• Antique Auto Show
• Special Attractions
• Games & Rides
• Musical Guests Saturday
• Official 2015 LAKEFEST T-SHIRT & SOUVENIRS
• “Afterfest”
• Top Twenty Events
• VIDEO RICHMOND
• VIDEO GREENSBORO

Lakefest Highlights start on Thursday…Come out and enjoy the beauty of the hot-air balloons! Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and spend the evening watching the balloons inflate and provide fun, FREE hot-air balloon rides for children 12 and younger. This event is scheduled for Thursday, July 16, starting at 6 pm at the Lake Country Business Park located on Noblin Farm Road (next to Clarksville Elementary School).

Hot dogs, hamburgers, soft drinks and ice cream treats will be available, courtesy of MeadowView Terrace. Children’s games, a dunking booth and other activities will be available at the event, too, all courtesy of Halifax Regional Health System. A minimal fee will be charged for the food and activities; however, all proceeds will be donated to the Southeastern Alzheimer’s Association.

With the weather cooperating (pilot can fly only when the wind is less than 10 mph and there are no storms within a 60 mile radius), all activities will continue until dusk. For more information, contact the Clarksville Lake Country Chamber of Commerce at 434-374-2436.

Also, going on the same night after the Hot air balloon rides, head downtown, to the corner of 4^th & Virginia Avenue to the old House of Prayer Church Building at 8 pm to see a FREE MOVIE! The House of Prayer is hosting the movie BIG HERO SIX rated PG. Refreshments & popcorn will be available.

ALAN at 2013 LAKEFEST

Friday, July 17^th stop by the corner of 4^th & Virginia Avenue, where Sand sculptor, Alan Matsumoto, has already begun his larger-than-life creation, I wonder what it will be this year? Alan, has held a Guinness World Record in sand-sculpting, and has won 6 World Championship titles with his Sand-sculpting Team-mates. He has also been a Canadian National Snow-sculpting Champion and twice B.C. Provincial Champion. After a 19 year career as a Structural Engineer in Vancouver, Canada, Alan has been sand-sculpting professionally now for over 20 years and currently lives in Roanoke, Virginia.

The town will be busy preparing for the night’s activities as the main stage will be rolling in as well as a few selected vendors & Fun Time Amusements of Danville will be setting up all their machines for the all the children’s games & rides. Around 6:30 pm everything should be set & placed into action. At 7 pm, we the night’s MC, Bill Baker will take stage and announce and bring our wonderful, sponsors to the stage! We couldn’t do it without them!!! Make sure you thank a sponsor if you see one!!

ADMIRAL

• HP

CAPTAINS

• McDonalds of Clarksville
• Clarksville Ruritans
• VETS, Inc.

COMMANDERS

• Benchmark Community Bank
• Lake Motel Efficiencies & Magnuson on the Lake
• SENTARA
• Signs & Designs
• The Mecklenburg Sun
• The News Progress
• US98.3

OFFICERS

• VCU/CMH
• Town of Clarksville
• Century 21 on the Lake
• Simmon’s & Associates Realty

1^st MATES

• A & K Dock Service
• Unburn
• Clarksville Marina
• Carter Bank & Trust
• Citizens Community Bank
• Edward Jones
• Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative

Helmsmen

• CFJ-Jewelry, Gifts & More
• Clarksville Auto Supply, Inc.
• Matthews Sanitation
• Southside Marine
• Virginia Avenue Mall

As soon as we are finished with taking the sponsor photo, the live entertainment for the evening takes stage….from Richmond Virginia, InsideOut. We will be selling lakefest t-shirts by the Clarksville Ruritans Thrift Shop, and also raffle tickets for the Totally Cool Raffle, which the winner will be drawn at 9:45 that evening.

From Richmond Virginia, playing the best from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, as well as today’s top hits, InsideOut features male and female lead singers, who bring a high energy show band while playing the best dance music around. InsideOut Band deliveries a wide variety in all kinds of music, for all ages.

InsideOut Band consists of 10 professional musicians with sorted talents, a dynamic horn section and 6 lead vocalists, playing music from Wilson Pickett to Katie Perry, InsideOut covers it all. The added bonus is the band’s DJ performs before they take stage, during their breaks, and after the show for an awesome entertainment experience, the best of both worlds for your function.

InsideOut Band’s influences include groups like Chicago, Tower of Power, Blood Sweat and Tears, Earth Wind & Fire, and Kool and the Gang. Also artists like Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Luther Vandross, Prince, the Time and too many more to list. The will be ready to bring you to the dance floor the Friday of WELCOMING CEREMONIES of LAKEFEST…. July 17^th, after we honor the sponsors!

Everything about the Prize Package is BIG that we have assembled for this year’s LF Raffle, thanks in part to some really awesome local Chamber Retailers that have donated some totally awesome gifts! YOU will be “COOL” in so many ways winning this prize package!! Everything in this raffle screams summer time fun and what better way to cool down than at the lake with all these fine prizes! (more details below)

A & K Dock service has generously donated a Pipeline, 11’ MUSHY Paddle Board & Paddle, worth over $800!! I WANT ONE!! CFJ- Jewelry Gifts & More – has also supplied coolness to one lucky winner and hooked us up a YETI COOLER, yeti accessories, Corkcicle & Heybo Tervis! Just with those items alone this package is worth almost $1200. While one of you is paddling, the other can relax on the Obrien foam Hammock that Southside Marine donated. HITE’s donated $100 worth of prizes to keep you fashionable for your trip to the beach: Buggs Island cap, tee & Beach hat, Mudpie bag & spiker & some southern fried accessories too! It wouldn’t be a day at the beach without a Shark siting, not a real shark in this raffle but a wind shark spinner that would look great in your yard, donated by the Twisted Tree! At days end from a totally wonderful day at the lake, the sun & water is great but for your hair it may give you that “yeti” look and will need repaired….well, Your Hair Place has hooked this raffle up with Matrix Biolage Shampoo & Conditioner. And for a kicker, and fun later in the summer…donated to us by Henrico Farms is a free ticket to the BIG Buggs Island Blues Bash, Scheduled for October 3rd!

Along with the items donated The Chamber purchased the below items from local Chamber Retailers to compliment this raffle:

• Obrien Wake Vest–Southside Marine
• Jellyfish Kite–The Twisted Tree
• Beach Towels & Set of napkins with Fish rings–Morningstar’s Bed & Bath Outlet
• Lunch Basket, Flip flops, Avon SPF Sunscreen, Anchor scarf wraps, anchor zip bag–Virginia Avenue Mall
• Also:
• *NEW Lake Life Pier Wreath
• *NEW Winbush Racing Tee Shirt & koozie

You DONT want to miss out buying a ticket for this raffle!! ONE ticket for $5 can win you all this!!!! Can you imagine? You can save by buying more tickets, buy 3 for $12 or 6 for $20. Tickets are available at the Chamber Office, Monday –Friday 9- 5 pm. Also, the Board of directors will also have tickets, so if we aren’t open, find one of them, I am sure they would be happy to sell theirs!!!

ALL ITEMS FOR THIS RAFFLE ARE FROM LOCAL CHAMBER MEMBERS! PLEASE REMEMBER TO SHOP LOCAL.

Proceeds go towards Lakefest expenses & future downtown events hosted by the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce. (Special thanks to Brandy Driggs & Philip Hensley for modeling & Betty Gould for allowing us to use Gypsy Beach for photo shoot)

The arts & crafts show is juried and the jury has been kept busy reviewing applications and photographs since early in February. Artists this year are coming from not only Virginia, but also other states– Florida, Ohio, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Maine, Pennsylvania & Georgia. The crafters have been extremely active in applying for this year’s show. Lots of new & exciting booths this year….art from Water ink, acrylic and oil paintings, pottery, leather products, birdhouses and garden accessories, carvers and sculptures, personalized jewelry, items to be personalized on the spot, blown glass jewelry, photography, clothing, home accessories and even pet attire–just to name a few.

What are some of the food vendors on tap for this year…how about something heathy at LAKEFEST? Well, we have a new vendor this year coming from Midlothian…..Hemp Dog Café® their products are a healthy take on classic foods. It is gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and GMO free!

Of course we have all the other festival favorites such as gyros, chic on a stick, Thai food, pizza, whole pig BBQ, crab cakes, seafood and hot dogs & hamburgers too! Fried green tomatoes, alligator fries, blooming onions, kettle corn, & more.

And for those with a sweet tooth, we have all sorts of flavored Funnel cakes and an Insane DONUT vendor, deep fried peaches, candy bars, & Oreos. For that hot summer day you can choose from these tasty treats to cool you down, Ice cream, smoothies, sno-cones, popsicles’, milkshakes or yogurt & so much more.

Want to see keep up with all active details & more of who is coming to LAKEFEST, go to our LAKEFEST EVENT page on Facebook to view our daily post on updates and information.

Parking? We get that question a lot here in our office, and to make life a little less stressful for you & the town of Clarksville during Lakefest we encourage you to use the shuttle service offered to you as our solution for everyone.

Exciting news for this years event:

Mecklenburg County Public School division is working with the Clarksville Lake Country Chamber of Commerce to make getting to and from Lakefest a little easier for visitors this year.
Sheila Cuykendall, Executive Director of the Clarksville Lake Country Chamber of Commerce said the chamber traditionally hired a non-local bus service to bring people downtown from the event’s remote parking areas. This year she chose to find a way to provide the same service while spending the money locally. She approached the school division about renting two buses – one handicapped accessible – and hiring division bus drivers to operate them.
The school board approved the request at its last voting session.
Speaking for the division, Heather Tuck, Assistant Superintendent of Administration said, “As we continue to work together in our community to strengthen the many positive aspects of living in Mecklenburg County, our school division is pleased that the town of Clarksville reached out to us to use our school buses for a fee, and hire our drivers to transport people to the downtown activities during Lakefest. Working with each community and all governmental agencies helps create a partnership that supports the county of Mecklenburg.”
Lakefest visitors seeking a ride to the downtown festival should look for the yellow school buses that will be shuttling people to and from remote parking sites. These are both air conditioned buses!!

Shuttle Service Map

This service will help with the age old question on where to park? This way you don’t have to worry about being stuck on the side street with all those others trying & hoping to find a spot nearby. The sides streets are really narrow & and If you are new to the area, you might not know the best way to navigate around the back roads, even though there are detour signs. Even if you are familiar and live out of town, there will be fewer headaches to park your car across from the YMCA, catch the bus and ride to the drop you off at the 8^th street. And any time you are ready to head back to your vehicle, a bus will be there within minutes to take you back.

Parking & Shuttle Service—Festivalgoers are encouraged to Park & Ride. Parking $5 per vehicle; there is no charge to ride the shuttles to and from the festival. Parking will be at the Lake County Business Park, on Noblin Farm Road. The Shuttle will run from 8 am until 6 pm. If you want to participate in the night activities you will have to catch the last ride by 6 pm to retrieve your vehicle so you can then just park closer to town after 6 pm.

Attention

For those Parking at Circle K and walking over the bridge to get to the festivities. You will need to go retrieve you vehicle by 3 pm, there will be NO PEDESTRIAN allowed to walk or ride on the bridge BUSINESS Bridge after 3 pm. Only authorized personal

Enter your antique automobiles in the 21st annual Antique Auto Show, which will be featured at Lakefest in Clarksville on Saturday, July 18, at Century 21 On the Lake (412 Virginia Avenue) and the lawn areas adjacent to realty office. Great trophies will be made in the categories of

•    Hard Luck Story,
•    Oldest Vehicle,
•    Longest Distance Traveled,
•    Diamond in the Rough and
•    The most important trophy of the show; Tom Lilly BEST IN SHOW Award.

Among those who have registered their vehicle in the show, there will be two prizes of $50 each that will be given away that afternoon.

To register your vehicle for the show, complete a registration form (available at Century 21 On the Lake or at the Chamber Office or Click Here to Download/Print) and return with the $10 fee prior to festival or $20 day of the show. The application can be mailed out or faxed to those interested in participating. For more information about registering your vehicle for the show, contact Century 21 On the Lake (434-374-2279) or the Clarksville Lake Country Chamber of Commerce (434-374-2436) or HERE.

Magic By Chaz~Chaz

Charles G. Misenheimer is a professional magician, with an interactive style, Chaz features roving, and close-up magic as a featured performer at events throughout the Southeast. This format allows his audiences to experience the thrill of magic literally right before their very eyes, and often right in their own hands.

Chaz will also entertain time to time at Unite Country’s Stage which is set up for a nice sized audience that is growing every year. This will be his 4^th year at our show, and I know its one of his favorites, he loves weaving tales of magic past, present, and future and conjuring up a very magical rabbit.

Who is that tall dude dancing in the street?

The stilt walker Lanky Lou is a sky-scraping giant over ten-feet tall with crazy antics, colorful costumes and games to play that are fun for everyone. A long time entertainer who has been roaming at festivals for years, having fun while giving out the highest of all high-fives. Lanky Lou brings excitement to new heights and is a perfect fit for a summertime festival

Balloon Candle Lighting Event

Before the Fireworks Show-candlestick balloon glow!

Fun Time Amusements Rides

has been providing family entertainment for more than 56 years and they plan to bring a wonderful array of rides and games that will enhance the main stage area adjacent Third Street (access at the corner of Third and Virginia Avenue) on Friday night, Saturday and Saturday night. Usually they bring eight or nine rides, which can range from their Flying Super Spinner, Fun Slide, Jurassic Adventure, Scooby Doo Combo Inflatable, Windjammer Kite Flyer and Rock Climbing Wall & more Most of the rides and games will be located on the grassy lot adjacent to the area. The company’s top priority is that of safety for their patrons and their guests. Safety mechanisms on all rides are constantly monitored on an on-going basis, and the rides are inspected by Virginia State Safety compliance. (More Below Image)

Train Rides

All aboard! No need to get your ticket punched for this train ride— passengers ride for free and there’s no ticket needed. Lakefest’s Fun-Time train will be chugging up and down Virginia Avenue (from 3rd to 7th Streets) on Saturday, July 18, from 9 am-5 pm. Turn-around locations will be at the main stage area (lot connected to 3rd Street) and at the Bank of America parking area (between 7th and 8th). The train holds up to 18 passengers, packages and baby strollers. Give your legs a rest and hop-aboard Lakefest’s Fun-Time Train. Other rides lined up for Lakefest:

Helicopter Rides

For the last five years, Paul Jackson, Helicopter Pilot, has been flying the friendly skies and giving our Lakefest visitors rides over Clarksville and the Lake. Take advantage of seeing Lake Country from the air this year, it is a memory you will never forget. Rides will be available starting Friday evening, at the Food Lion lawn area & Saturday for most of the day. It is $30 per person to ride.

Pony Rides

Five Blessings Farms will host their pony rides and two fun bouncy inflatables at the corner of 5th & Virginia Avenue. Last year they were located next to the Morton-Sizemore house with just their ponies, but we have moved them to include a few inflatables.

Bull Rides, Maybe…

YEE-HA! Get ready to ride or get ready to be thrown off by Blue Moon Whisky the Mechanical bull; he can be set in a slow/easy mode for beginners, with increasing skill levels and speeds for advanced bull riders. Variable rotation speed and bucking speed makes Blue Moon Whisky suitable for kids, teens, and adults. Safety is the number one concern with Rowdy’s Rodeo Mechanical Bull. Also available will be a racing simulator

BigTime has been Bringin’ The Party Since 2003, they quickly became one of the hottest bands in the Southeast. Playing traditional Carolina Beach Music, Rhythm and Blues, Classic Rock as well as a wide and pleasing variety of party favorites in clubs, community festivals, weddings and corporate events.

BigTime has moved to the forefront of both live and recorded bands in the region. With eight active performers, BigTime displays vocal range and strength many other bands cannot easily match. Running the entire gamut from the powerhouse vocals of energetic and charismatic front man John L. Wilson, the bluesy vocal swagger of keyboardist Bill Hancock, to the mellow style of Tiffany Hancock, they personalize each song, impress you with their differences, and yet wow you with their harmonious blend. Add to this the skill and enthusiasm of Todd Arrington on guitar and vocals, the experience and precision of drummer Mike Harriss, the solid drive of Craig Saunders on bass guitar and the exciting yet smooth sounds of Craig Cottrell on sax and vocals. Rounding out the group is its founding member, manager, sound technician and vocalist Johnny Wilson, who has been a staple of the North Carolina music scene since 1969 with his first band, The Contrast and in the 1980’s with the extremely popular Bits & Pieces.

Since being signed by the south’s premier labels Ripete Records & KHP Music in 2008, BigTime has regularly released significant new music. In March of 2009, their debut CD, Footprints in the Sand, included several excellent original tunes along with some great classic covers. Their first chart topping hits drove excellent sales of the CD. These hits were “Drink Up”, “Oh, What a Feeling” and “Do Ya Like”… the latter being written by Tiffany Hancock. Following the release of Footprints, BigTime was nominated for a Carolina Beach Music Award for “Best New Act”. In 2012, BigTime’s then- guitarist Barry Briggs created Carolina Sound Music to handle BigTime’s publishing and recording projects. The first recording to come from Carolina Sound was the single “Cherry Groove”, which was released to an ecstatic response from the public.

Songwriters John Wilson and Barry Briggs were nominated by the Carolina Beach Music Association for “Songwriter(s) of the Year”. The following year, BigTime was nominated for “Collaboration of the Year” along with legendary Soul/R&B/Beach Music entertainer Clifford Curry for their version of “Four O’clock in the Morning”. Johnny Wilson was nominated for “Producer of the Year” for the same song. Altogether, BigTime has enjoyed five songs achieving Top 10 status on the Carolina Beach Music charts with two of them reaching the number one position. At the end of 2013, three BigTime songs were simultaneously in the Beach Music Top 40… with their newest single “I Loved Them All” debuting at #36, “Four O’clock” coming in at #25 and “Cherry Groove” nearly hitting the top spot at #3. This breakout recording and performing group has solidified its position as one of the most requested in the southeast. And they are ready to Bring their PARTY to LAKEFEST!!!

Kaitlin N. Klein, the design contest winner, wearing the Ringer shirt & holding a tank top.

2015 LAKEFEST TEE’s & Tanks Have Arrived.. and are NOW on SALE!!!

The Official 2015 Lakefest t-shirts have arrived and they are spectacular! The artwork shows views of the lake and attractions seen at Lakefest. Kaitlin N. Klein, from Red Oak, VA created the winning Lakefest design. Each shirt also has the official ADMIRAL Sponsor, HP Logo on the right sleeve, & our Captain sponsors, Clarksville Ruritans, McDonald’s of Clarksville & VETS, INC logo imprinted on the left sleeve.

The shirts come in a variety of colors—white, sports grey, carolina blue, electric green, azalea pink & cornsilk yellow and they range in sizes from youth small to adult XXX-large. Youth shirts come in Carolina blue & Azalea Pink and are $15, Adult sizes small to x-large are $20 and 2XL’s and 3XL’s are $22.

TANKS are back too in various sizes & colors….colors for the Ladies are: white, sports grey, & pink & for the men we have sports grey & carolina blue. Sizes & colors are limited so get yours before they are gone! Tanks will be $18 for regular sizes, 2XL are $20.

Representitives from each company sponsor: left to right: HP, Michael Snavely, Clarksville McDonald’s, Janet Powell, Clarksville Ruritan’s Vicki Garrett & VET’s, Aaron Vaughan

NEW! LIMITED SUPPLY OF RINGER shirts! These are so cool! Sports grey with black trim. Sold only in Large & XL. Ringer shirts are only sold at the Chamber office, and are $22.

T-shirts are now available at the Clarksville Chamber Office (105 Second Street), the Virginia Avenue Mall (317 Virginia Avenue). Proceeds from the shirts will help with the various expenses of Lakefest such as live bands, fireworks and hot-air balloons.

Virginia Lake Festival, held the third full weekend of each July in Clarksville, Virginia, was again chosen as “One of the Top 20 Events” by the Southeast Tourism Society.  This year’s event marks the Town’s 38th Annual Event and July 16-19, promises to be the event not to be missed.

Since 1985, the Southeast Tourism Society has published the Top 20 Events.  Each month, hundreds of the best events across the Southeast compete to be named a Top 20 Event.  Southeast Tourism Society publishes the list of winners quarterly and sends the list to over 800 newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, AAA publications and others.  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution prints the Top 20 Events as a regular quarterly feature of its travel section, and the Top 20 Events has recently been featured on the New Orleans-based radio show “Travel Talk Radio,” just to name a few.  The combined circulation runs into the millions.  The Top 20 Events are also listed on the Southeast Tourism Society websitewww.southeasttourism.org and on their consumer website www.escapetothesoutheast.com.  The Top 20 Events pages are consistently among the most visited pages on the STS sites.

The Top 20 Events represents the best festivals the Southeast has to offer.  Events that win this honor benefit from the widespread exposure and prestige that being named a Top 20 Events affords.

Founded in 1983, the Southeast Tourism Society is dedicated to the promotion & development of tourism to its member states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.  The membership includes state travel offices, attractions, hotels, motels, resorts, convention & visitors bureaus, airlines, car rental agencies, newspapers, magazines and other travel related organizations.