Archive for ◊ May, 2016 ◊

The Biggest Event in Southern Virginia 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 happenings; Starting with our Annual Hot-air Balloon Tethering rides, to the Welcoming Ceremonies & finally the main day events to the gathering of the boats & fireworks.

2016 Lakefest Schedule

• Tethered hot-air balloon event (Thursday)
• Showcasing our own special sign of L O V E
• Welcoming Ceremonies Friday Night
• Musical Guests (Friday)
• LAKEFEST Raffle
• Juried Arts & Crafts Festival Saturday
• Shuttle & Parking Information
• Antique Auto Show
• Games & Rides
• Special Entertainment from a few Disney Princesses & Star Wars Characters
• Sand Sculpture Artist
• Musical Guests (Saturday)
• Official 2016 LakeFest T-Shirts & Souveniors
• Top 20 Events
• LakeFest Logo

Friday, July 15th stop by the corner of 4th & Virginia Avenue, where sand artist, Ed Moore, of Sandy Feat, has already begun his larger-than-life creation, I wonder what it will be this year?

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 6:30pm everything should be set & placed into action. At 7pm, the night’s MC, Bill Baker will take stage and welcome our wonderful sponsors to the stage! We couldn’t do it without them! Be sure you thank a sponsor if you see one.

The 2016 Virginia Lake Festival would not be possible without Sponsorships. The great thing is most of our Sponsors have been supporting Lakefest year after year. We are hoping that in the years to follow, more businesses will consider thinking about supporting this event. Your generosity and support brings economic vigor to our community and allows Lakefest to be a dynamic and joyful celebration of Life in Lake Country. It is a TOP TWENTY event in the Southeast, no one else in our area has that tagged with their event.

Lakefest is the largest event in the area and is enjoyed by thousands not only in this town, but in surrounding towns. People travel from all over to come here. Vendors travel from Florida, GA, PA, OH & AL. Our whole county benefits from Lakefest, as well as South Boston & South Hill hotels receiving more guests this weekend.

We salute our sponsors of Lakefest and all their support of the Clarksville Lake Country Chamber of Commerce. Come and give them a big THANK YOU, Friday night as we honor them for their support, along with these other great businesses that supported this year’s Lakefest.

Captains

• Clarksville Ruritans
• VETS, Inc.

Master Commandant

• McDonalds of Clarksville

Commanders

• Benchmark Community
• Lake Motel & Magnuson
• SENTARA
• The News Progress
• Lake Country Satellite
• The Mecklenburg Sun
• Lakes Media/US 98.3

Officers

• VCU/CMH
• Century 21
• Simmons & Associates Realty

1st Mates

• A & K Dock Service
• Carter Bank & Trust
• Citizens Community Bank
• Clarksville Marina
• HHM Porta Toilet LLC
• Mecklenburg Electric Coop
• Rudd’s Creek Marina
• State Farm-Buchanan Insurance
• Sunoco A Plus/Papa Johns
• Talbert Building Supply
• Virginia Avenue Mall

Helmsmen

• Clarksville Auto Supply
• Matthew’s Sanitation
• Moore’s Chevrolet
• Preddy Memorial Foundation
• Southside Marine & Auto

As soon as we are finished with taking the sponsor photo, the live entertainment for the evening takes stage….The Pizazz Band.  We will be selling LAKEFEST t-shirts by the Clarksville Ruritans Thrift Shop, and also raffle tickets for the “Hooked on You” Raffle.

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 14, 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.

It all started with the Clarksville Chamber, Town of Clarksville and some members of the community who were on a quest to have our very own LOVE sign. The Chamber had rented one from Virginia.org the last two years as part of our tourism attraction at the Virginia Lake Festival. But it made more sense to create our own because, well, we LOVE Clarksville & Lakefest! So in January it was presented to the board that we make this a Town & Chamber project but it was important to all that the community help us with the ideas.  We began asking the locals to submit their ideas and designs. We also encouraged them to incorporate current and historical items of importance to the culture of Clarksville. Once we received the submissions the Chamber board of directors voted on the four best choices for each letter and then we posted a public poll for each letter. The selected winners of this poll now represent our very own LOVE sign!

• L is for Lake Life, Lakefest and our Love for this town.
• O represents Clarksville’s history of the Occoneechi Indians and Opportunities here in Clarksville! We hope to capture great memories & visitors’ dreams of visiting again and again (or even that they will want to live here!)
• V is for our many Visitors that Vacation here in Clarksville and we want you to Value your time with us!
• E is for wishing Everyone wonderful Experiences. And we have to add our thankfulness for God’s Everlasting Love for us! We are looking forward to our Endless possibilities here in Clarksville! The END.

We want to thank the community for all their help and the local talent who helped make each letter possible. For more pictures visit our facebook page with all details of our LOVE LETTERS!

Visitors can come see the LOVE sign on display at the pocket park at Virginia Avenue & 4th Street through the middle of August, then it will be moved Lakeside beside our Welcome to Clarksville Sign at the Sunoco A Plus

About the LOVEwork Project

• www.virginia.org/love– features all the LOVEwork with an interactive map so travelers can visit each one.
• Over the past few years, we have seen over 100,000 visits to the LOVEwork webpage
• We continue to see great engagement online with thousands of user-generated pictures on Facebook, twitter and instagram featuring the LOVEworks
• Visitors are encouraged to use #LOVEVA with LOVEwork pictures and share with Virginia Tourism’s social accounts, @visitvirginia

The Pizazz Band – Friday July 15th

Opening night of Lakefest we are sizzling it with some PIZAZZZZ! The Pizazz Band will take stage with their high energy that pounds your heart and gets your feet and body moving with your Top 40, Beach, Country, Rock, Oldies Soul, & even some Funk!

Get into the romantic, soulful voice of Lead Man Kent Zimmerman.  The talent of the Pizazz Band is unsurpassed with Mark Davidson’s gravelly, smokey vocals and fluid guitar.  Chip Johnson keeps the beat going on drums, Wayne Free will hypnotize you Vocally & plays Keys, Guitar, & Brass, completing the band is the solid timing and groove of bassist Kenny Hancock.

The diversity of the band will wow you with the rhythmic lyrical vocals to hip hop and funk, country lyrics that will transform you from the realities of your lives.  Listen for the strong groove and rhythm that these accomplished musicians bring to each song. Chip Johnson is a native of South Boston, Virginia.

The Konnection Band – Saturday July 16th

Saturday night we are connecting you with local favorites…The Konnection Band! East Coast’s premiere party bands, specializing in a variety of music including Top 40, Rock, Country, R & B, Beach and Oldies. The band has performed for thousands, being the featured entertainment at numerous festivals and events including The Virginia Pork Festival, The Virginia Cantaloupe Festival, The Colgate Country Showdown, The Virgilina Summerfest, The Smithfield Ham & Yam Festival, The Oxford Masonic Home’s St. John’s Day,  and even several times at our very own Virginia Lake Festival.

Band members include, Brian Ramsey, Kevin Knight, Mike Brooks, Ray Preston, Melvin Carroll, Craig Cottrell, Chris Medlin, Tony Watson

We are excited to announce that we have a few special guests appearing for the kiddos at this year’s event! To cool things down during the hot summer months we have asked Elsa & Anna from Frozen to come entertain us along with another famous princess…Cinderella and not just princesses we also have the Star Wars battling duo Darth Vader & Jedi!  They will be here for a limited time during the festival, so you won’t want to miss them!

Queen Elsa and Princess Anna are a lovable pair of sisters who impress every little princess and prince. They delight in going to parties and bringing their charm and warmth everywhere they go. They’ve broken through thick ice together and share a true sisterly love that can’t be defeated. These sweet sisters of Arendelle will share their kindness and courage with you.

Cinderella is always the center of attention wherever she goes. It’s no wonder that everyone loves her; she’s smart, graceful, patient, and kind. She knows the importance of positive thinking and always follows her dreams.

Our princesses will paint simple designs, with a dash of glitter, on any child who would like one! They plan to sing and tell stories and if time allows, to teach the young princesses how to walk, talk and act like a princess. Who better to show them than the princess herself!

When the Princesses are off stage and walking around the crowds you will see the dueling duo, Darth Vader & Jedi from Star Wars!

The Jedi are masters of the Force, and they use their knowledge of it to defend peace and justice throughout the galaxy. Their strength in muscle and mind is incredible, and they fight with great skill when it’s necessary.

Darth Vader is a powerful Sith Lord with power over the dark side of the Force and a talent for choking anyone who challenges him. His skill in the Force makes him a difficult opponent for the Jedi, and his cruelty is well-known throughout the galaxy. But he’s not all evil; beneath the dark exterior is a sad man with a heartbreaking history.

These two will battle and you will learn how to fight the bad guys with the best JEDI teacher around! They’ll learn hands on what it takes to fight crime and save the world!

Performances will be at United Country Realty stage from 10:30-1:30 pm on July 16^th. Each set of Characters will perform at specific times and while they aren’t on stage they will be walking through the crowds. Specific times for performances will be announced at a later time.

Party Princess Productions provides high-end birthday party character entertainment, princess parties, superhero parties and many other character themed parties. Specializing in singing princesses, we also provide a wide variety of other characters. Our custom costumes and quality performers ensure the most authentic performance in town. Our characters face paint, sing, play games and take pictures! Our birthday party character entertainment is the perfect addition to your next party or event!

The arts & crafts show is juried and the jurors have been kept busy reviewing applications and photographs since early in February. It is a packed house this year with over 230 vendors ranging from Crafts, Food, Non-profits & Retail items. Vendors this year are coming not only from Virginia, but also other states: Florida, Ohio, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Maryland, Pennsylvania & Georgia.

The crafters have been extremely active in applying for this year’s show. We have lots of new & exciting booths this year, from amazing woodworkings, acrylic and oil paintings, pottery, leather products, birdhouses and garden accessories, carvers and sculptures, personalized jewelry, items to be personalized on the spot, pain relief jewelry, photography, clothing, home accessories and even homemade pet food & attire… just to name a few.

We have a few book authors too! One is local and will be located at the Cottage Barn booth and the other is from Florida. We have great things for the kids from treasure mining to Disney characters, face painters, character balloons & water slide, pony & amusement rides.

There will be no shortage of food vendors ranging from Asian, Seafood, Mediterranean, Greek & your All-American choices too! There will be special items such as fried green tomatoes, Angus Sliders, Brats & BBQ Ribs, along with all the other fair favorites. For the sweet tooth, Sweet Frog is back, along with a new Sweet Cakes vendor, specializing in flavored & frosted cupcakes. Funnel cakes have evolved into all the toppings and flavors a sugar lover could only dream about. There will be deep fried candy bars, & Oreos to icees, smoothies & popsicles. Cheesecake on a stick anyone? Smell the aroma of Roasted nuts, kettle corn, popcorn, cotton candy & more! All here on Saturday.

Sweet Cakes!

Lake Country Satellite is helping this year with Wi-Fi for the event and US98 will be doing live remotes throughout the day! Disney Characters will be here for a short time from 10:30-1:30, so don’t miss them performing at the United Country Realty Stage. Virginia Avenue from Second through Fourth Street will not re-open at 5 pm so we have about 25 vendors opting to stay until the fireworks, so come on down any time of day. If you want to keep up with all activities, 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.

Enter your antique automobiles in the 22nd annual Antique Auto Show, which will be featured at Lakefest in Clarksville on Saturday, July16, 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
•        Tom Lilly BEST IN SHOW Award (The most important trophy of the show!)

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(434-374-2279) or at the Chamber Office(434-374-2436) or Click Here to Download/Print) and return with the $10 fee prior to festival or $20 day of the show. Or it can be mailed out or faxed to those interested in participating.

New this Year!

The Skymaster. At almost 50ft tall, it offers high flying twists and turns for thrill seekers of all ages as the pendulum action rolls over and over. At night, a brilliant LED light show illuminates the air as riders scream in delight at this awesome attraction.

Kids will love this! Treasure Quest Mining is a mobile gem mining and treasuring hunting experience where treasure hunters can sluice for gemstones, seashells & fossilized sharks’ teeth or crack open geodes to reveal the crystals inside. They will  be set up near Hite’s on Saturday, July 16th.

Fun Time Amusements Rides

Fun Time Amusements Rides has been providing family entertainment for more than 57 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.

Treasure Quest Sluice

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.

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 16, 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.

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 5^th & Virginia Avenue  across from State Farm Insurance. Five Blessings Farm is located in Gladys, VA…. They specialize in being your onestop for all of your family fun. They have six ponies to rent, an amazing petting zoo, and four various wet and dry inflatables for all of your entertainment needs.

The Water Wars Booth

Play the ultimate water balloon game! From Warsaw, NC Water Wars is bringing some water balloon fun that you will have fun either as a game or competition–here is how you play:  Opponents go to opposing battle stations with buckets of water balloons.  Each battle station has a water balloon launcher.  Place a balloon in the launcher, pull down on the handle, aim, and fire!  Your balloon soars high through the air and comes crashing down on your opponent’s battle station.  There are strategically placed slots and holes in the structure that allows the water to come through.  You might get sprinkled, sprayed, or saturated, but watch out, retaliation comes quickly….! Water Wars will be located in front of Watkins, Cooper, Lyon’s FH.

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. (View the Shuttle Map here)

This service will help with the age old question of 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 side 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 8th 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

Festival-goers are encouraged to Park & Ride.  Parking is $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.

We are excited to announce that we are again working with the Mecklenburg County Public School division with renting two of their buses – one handicapped accessible – and hiring division bus drivers to operate them.

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. Last year we wanted 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 once again approved the request at its last voting session.

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.

!Attention!

For those Parking at Sunoco A Plus (past Uppy’s or Circle K) and walking over the bridge to get to the festivities. You will need to go retrieve your vehicle by 3 pm, there will be NO PEDESTRIANS allowed to walk or ride on the Bussiness Bridge after 3 pm. Only authorized personal.

One of the events major attractions to Lakefest each year is the Sand Sculpture. We wait for almost three whole days to figure out what great work of art will be carved out of that huge pile of sand. The attraction is located in the Pocket Park, located at the corner of 4th & Virginia Avenue, near the LOVE sign.

Back this year is Ed Moore who was here in 2014 and has been the main sand artist for Lakefest for many years. Ed is the Founder of the Sandy Feat sand sculpture group, who grew up to be an architect. But he never gave up on his childhood pastime, which resulted in ever more complex creations, from elaborate castles built on beach vacations to the scores of sculptures he has cut into blocks of wet sand since founding the professional sand-sculpting team Sandy Feat 26 years ago.

He has a Bachelor’s degree in architecture, is a N.C. State University Residence, lives in  Raleigh with his wife, Sally Moore. The Moore family has a long history at N.C. State, where he, his father and one of his sons all earned degrees. Moore says his father would often recall a tradition there from the 1920s called “Rush the Grand,” in which groups of students would take the trolley downtown to the Grand Theater. (Later called the Ambassador Theater, it has since been razed.) A large enough group would overwhelm the attendants, allowing the students to get in free.

Jim Moody from one of our Captain Sponsors: VETS

The Official 2016 Lakefest t-shirts have arrived and they are spectacular! Each shirt also has the official Captain sponsors, Clarksville Ruritans, & VETS, INC logo imprinted on the left sleeve and this year on right sleeve is the town & Chamber logo.

The shirts come in a variety of colors—white, metro blue, tropical blue, mint, daisy yellow, & orchid,  they range in sizes from youth small to adult 3xl. Youth shirts come in Mint & Tropical Blue and are $15, Adult sizes small to x-large are $20 and 2XL’s and 3XL’s are $22.

Tanks are back too in limited sizes & colors. Colors for the Ladies are: white, sapphire blue & Lime- for the men we have black, Sapphire Blue & Lime. Get yours before they are gone! Tanks will be $20 for regular sizes, 2XL are $22.

T-shirts are now available at the Clarksville Chamber Office (105 Second Street) and 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.

More than once…. And again…… The Virginia Lake Festival is awarded & named a “Top 20 Event” Winner!

ATLANTA, Ga. June 1, 2016– The Southeast Tourism Society has named Virginia Lake Festival one of the STS Top 20 Event in the Southeast for July 2016 .

This year’s Virginia Lake Festival is July 14-16, 2016. The STS Top 20 Festival and Event Awards have highlighted programs around the Southeast since 1985.
Travel industry experts select 20 events per month, and STS publicizes them throughout the United States. The complete list is published on two websites: EscapeToTheSoutheast.com and Travel Media Press Room.

We are finally ready to cast out! Tickets are now on sale for our 2016 LAKEFEST Raffle!

Our angling skills netted us a great catch of prizes which we hope will bait you into buying tickets! There are no fish bones about it, that one winner is going to be hooked up with over $1300 in prizes! Everything in this raffle is filled with items most of us either are already “hooked on” or considered a must have that will lure you into buying tickets, whether you want all the items for yourself or have a special someone in mind to gift it too.

We all love the summer & the best way to cool down is time on the water. This raffle comes equipped with great water toys that the whole family will enjoy, from the 6 x 12 Paradise Pad donated by A & K Dock service, to keep your drinks on ice a floating bobber cooler, along with plenty of kids items for the beach or water. Hooked on Lake Life? We have Lake life accessories donated by Hite’s. Also a GPS Navigator for land or water donated by Southside Marine & Xtreme Life Jacket by Clarksville Water sports. Love to shop…who doesn’t, well the Chamber and Karin Kuhn both have hooked you up with $200 in CHAMBER bucks, which can be redeemed at over 20 of our Chamber merchants. So whether you want to shop or dine you have a choice where to spend your $200. We all love Disney princesses & Star Wars, the kids will love the Disney characters included in the raffle as well. Also included is merchandise that will be a great accessory to anyone’s home…from wall décor, donated by Grandfather’s Country Creations & Hall’s Art Gallery, to a Swan creek Candle donated by Charlotta Howell, fish themed cutting boards donated by H & E Enterprises, copper fish bone art, gift basket of Meck Electric apparel donated by Mecklenburg Electric, as well as his & her Buggs Island tees & hat set. Lastly, cute fishing lure earrings made locally and it wouldn’t be LAKEFEST without our Hot air balloons, so included is a handmade wooden wall art of a Hot air balloon, made by Traci Watson of 2 Mermaids Cottage painted with our theme this year…“Hooked on Lakefest”

Tickets are $5 each, three for $12, or six for $20 and the great thing is you do not have to be present to win. The winning ticket will be drawn Friday, July 15th at the end of Opening Ceremonies around 9:30 pm. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit projects of the Clarksville Lake County Chamber of Commerce. For more information, call the Chamber at 434-374-2436. or stop by the office and view the items.

We want to say a special thank you to all those who contributed to this year’s raffle, all other items that weren’t donated where purchased locally by the Chamber of Commerce.

We would like to finally reveal our Official LAKEFEST LOGO for this year!! Whoop Whoop! Beginning of each year we have a contest calling all artist to submit their creative design for a possibility to have their artwork chosen and win $250. Keeping in mind that the design has to be won over by all the judges and transfer and work best with the tee shirts. With literally only a handful of entries it was a bit challenging for the judges to decide between the submissions with those guidelines in mind for the BEST logo this year. Well we finally worked with a submission that was able to make some tweaks and add in some special request…they have opted to be unnamed and donated the money back to help with funds for the Virginia Lake Festival…here is this year’s design!