OPENING NIGHT CEREMONIES & ACTIVITIESTH th
Join us as we honor our 2022 Virginia Lake Festival Sponsors at 7 pm. Behind Hite’s in the Clarksville Ruritans Parking lot.
Enjoy Amusement Rides & Games, Lakefest t-shirts & Raffle at Chamber Booth, Craft Beer is available for purchase (Friday night only), selection from BIB (Buggs Island Brewery), NEW addition is the Woodbine Winery will also be here Friday night. No coolers or outside alcohol permitted at the event. Food is provided by Off the Chain and the Cottage Barn.
Program of Events (Click Here Program 22)
FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE MUSIC
Brake Tyme Band
7:30 pm-Live on Stage– Brake Tyme Band- started around 2015 playing pool parties in our neighborhood. We have 2 original members and we are a 6 piece variety band from Henderson, NC. We play country clubs, private parties, and festivals. Our website is braketymeband.com
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE MUSIC
Paradise Road is a Contemporary Southern Rock band, (though not just Southern Rock) from Halifax County, VA. Starting from humble beginnings, we have been playing together for many years and bring a varied mix of music to our events. We are versed in Classic Rock, Southern Rock, Blues, and Country as well as Alternative. We are a high-energy band that aims to please. From Skynyrd to Zeppelin. From Johnny Cash to Neil Young, this band puts on a show that is guaranteed to satisfy. Ranging from hard rock hits to classic ballads, this group loves to put on a great show. After many years of playing on our namesake, Paradise Road as a weekend jam band, we have started hitting the public stage to bring a little music to anyone that will come see us. All are welcomed, as we have a little bit for everyone, and all leave satisfied. Come on out and join us!
Members of our group include Sonny Jones (Drums), Dwayne Rudder (Rhythm Guitar and Vocals), Jeremy Newton (Bass Guitar and Vocals), and Robert Jordan (Lead Guitar and Vocals). We have all lived in the area for most of our lives. All of us have been playing for many years with various other groups, but we have all found a kinship with this group.
We are available for small venues as well as larger venues from clubs to outdoor festivals and parties. Feel free to contact us if you are interested in having us perform.
JURIED ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW
We are hosting over 175 vendors ranging from Crafts, Food, Non-profits & Retail items. Vendors this year are coming not only from Virginia, but also from other states: Florida, Ohio, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Maryland, & Georgia. We have lots of new & exciting booths this year, from amazing wood workings, acrylic and oil paintings, pottery, jewelry, items to be personalized on the spot, clothing, home accessories, and even homemade pet food & attire… just to name a few. VIRGINIA AVENUE FROM 9th through 2nd and Business bridge will be CLOSED ALL DAY from 4 am to 11 pm.
FOOD & BEVERAGES
We have a full plate of food offering this year from Thai, Mediterranean, Greek, African, BBQ & Kono Pizza! For the sweet tooth, Homemade ice-cream anyone? check out the Amish booth…also it would not be a festival without funnel cakes, deep fried candy bars, & Oreos to icees, smoothies, Lemonade is great for a hot day! NEW this year is a Sober Mobile Bar which is a non-alcoholic beverage truck. There will be lots of food to temp you but nothing like the Smell and aroma of kettle corn, popcorn, cotton candy & more! All here on Saturday.
HOT AIR BALLOONS
Saturday & Sunday AM & Saturday PM. For safety of all pilots, flights only occur with select weather conditions. Should there be storms in a 60-mile radius, or winds locally greater than 10 mph–flights will be cancelled.
Pilots will meet at the Clarksville Community Center on Woodland Drive across from the Food Lion lot around 6:30 to see the location of wind to determine where they will be lifting off. Stay tuned via Facebook
FIREWORKS
We are excited to partner again with a local company from South Boston this year! The Virginia Skypainters, now owned and led by Ryan Francisco, is well known for it’s outstanding fireworks displays. For over 8 years, the Virginia Skypainters has provided fireworks displays using both professional, and consumer grade fireworks, for events and occasions all over the state of Virginia, and North Carolina.
In 2017, Ryan founded his own fireworks company (Francisco Display Fireworks, LLC) which is a family owned and operated fireworks company located in South Boston, Virginia. Francisco Display Fireworks is now doing business as the Virginia Skypainters and is currently serving Virginia and North Carolina specializing in outdoor aerial displays consisting of shells and ground effects. Earlier this year, Virginia Skypainters was announced as a winner of the 2021 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards®, an accolade representing the top wedding professionals across the board in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism reviewed by couples on WeddingWire. Virginia Skypainters has received this award 7 times out of the last 8 years, and has held 5-star ratings with both Wedding Wire and The Knot.
Ryan is a Certified Pyrotechnician who is dedicated to the safe and responsible use of fireworks. Ryan is licensed with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and is also a member of the Mid Atlantic Pyrotechnics Arts Guild, Pyrotechnics Guild International, and Crackerjacks. Ryan has performed shows in Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
PARKING & SHUTTLE
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.
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.
SAND ART
Lakefest is thrilled to announce we have John Gowdy & Laura Cimador-Gowdy from Atlantic City, New Jersey, who will be returning to the 45th Annual Virginia Lake Festival. He is a retired captain from the Atlantic City Fire Department having served 27 years, half of those years in the rank of captain. He has dedicated the rest of his life to the arts. May it be painting, sculpture, or the performance of both together. The duo recently achieved 2nd Place Masters Duo, John, and Laura Gowdy at the annual Texas SandFest Competition (April 12, 2022) Photos by Kastle Kelley.
“My team and I have been carving sand for over 30 years professionally. I work with my lovely wife Laura. We have won many national, international, and world-class first-place awards in just about every master sand sculpture competition on the planet. Our greatest and most often won prize is “people’s choice”. We love pleasing the people who look at our sand displays and experience an emotional feeling from them.~https://www.johngowdy.
RIDES & SPECIAL ENTERTAINMENT
For the last seven 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 $45 per person to ride. From Macclesfield NC, Fun Fest is a carnival that is designed to help non-profits make money and for the community to have a safe and fun time.
Special Guests From Party Princess Productions of Raleigh, we will have Disney Characters will be here for a short time from 10:30-1:30. Sleeping Beauty & Maleficent. Sparrow will be on stage at 10:45-11:15 and will be roaming crowds till 1 and back to stage at 1 pm. Cocomelon Island Baby & Children’s Clothing 331 Virginia Ave.
LAKEFEST RAFFLE
Local Fun & Games is this year’s Lakefest Raffle prizes. The first winner will choose between backyard games valued at $645, or local shopping, dining, and accommodations gift certificates totaling $645. or $200 in Chamber cash with a 31 Lakefest Longaberger Media Basket total valued at $245. It’s all about LAKE FEST #45, Your family will love the backyard fun & games with a Lakefest/Clarksville Cornhole set, Jenga, Connect four, Badminton Sets plus some fun lake fest accessories.
LAKEFEST T-SHIRTS
Lakefest Tee shirts and tank have arrived and are now on sale at the Chamber office and will be at the Virginia Avenue Mall later today. We tried hard to keep the prices affordable with everything going up in price and shortage issues on colors. Regular tees are $24. 2XL, 3 XL & 4 XL are $28. Youth sizes are $18. Colors vary and many are limited so hurry in for the best selection. We like to thank our four Captain Sponsors for sporting the new tees and some of the colors.
LAKEFEST CLASSIC CAR SHOW
In 2019, The Lakefest Antique Auto show celebrated 25 years, and then the pandemic hit, and Lakefest was canceled for 2020. For many years, Century 21 on the Lake helped the Clarksville Lake Country Chamber organize this attraction and since Century 21 merged and now Coldwell Banker Advantage, we needed to find a new host. The Clarksville Regional Museum stepped in and organized it at their lawn on 8th Street in 2021 and now the Clarksville Lake Country Chamber brings it back into the festival for 2022. The Pandemic has changed a lot of things for us and we are working hard to keep this attraction part of Lakefest, with that change we are updating the name and location for this year to Lakefest Classic Car Show and it will be held in the parking lot of TouchstoneBank 701 Virginia Avenue. We are thrilled to have Bob Murphy available that morning to help with placements. Each vehicle will receive a dash plaque for its entry.
Enter your Classic automobiles by filling out an application, $10 entry, and $20 day of show. You can register online https://clarksvilleva.chambermaster.com/eventregistration/register/10619
or call us at the Chamber Office at 434-374-2436
