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Take a break and enjoy the weekend
It has truly been an enjoyable experience bringing you the local news from Clarke and Washington counties for the last five years, and I hope to be here for a longtime to come. One of the first events I attended shortly after beginning my job here, was Jackson's Fall Festival. I had been to other similar events in other areas of the state, but there was something different about this one. For one thing, it was bigger than many of the other festivals I had attended in small towns elsewhere. Also unique was the vintage car show put on by the Bob Smith Family each year and the annual Lumberjack Competition. Often events such as these have one main attraction, but Jackson has more, and in this case, more is better. No matter who you are, there's something for almost everyone at the Annual Fall Festival. Since the early 1980s, when the festival first began, the event has grown by leaps and bounds. More and more people became interested in participating as the years went by. Now the entire downtown area is filled with arts and crafts vendors, classic cars, entertainment, games for the kids and food vendors. I was truly impressed by the first Fall Festival I attended five years ago. I had only been here several weeks before the event took place. My family had not moved here yet and I was spending the weekends in Troy where they still lived. That Saturday, we made the 2-1/2 hour trip here to attend the event and enjoyed every minute of it. During the past five years, I have watched the Fall Festival grow even more, attracting more people to Jackson. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Kenny Smith and his mother, Sara, to discuss the history of the Bob Smith Memorial Antique Auto Show, which in itself draws a large number of people from all over the region. Although Kenny's dad, Bob, passed away a number of years ago, he and his family have kept his dream alive. The show has grown from 40-60 cars the first year, to about 140 or more annually. Kenny said he is shooting for 200, and I believe he will make it eventually. It's amazing to me how Bob Smith's dream of owning and restoring a 1954 Chevrolet came true and how his dream of having a classic car show in Jackson has turned into such a major part of the Fall Festival. It and the lumberjack competition, sponsored by Slayton Brothers, are the two anchors of the event. This year, there will be some great entertainment as well. Local singer Ashton Shepherd, who is a fast rising Country star, will perform along with local favorites After 5 and Birmingham recording artists Bro'Ken. Now, how often do you get to see classic cars, a lumberjack competition and hear some great music all in the same day? Jackson is lucky to have such an event and we should all take advantage of it.
So, take a break from your normal routine this Saturday and walk the streets of downtown Jackson. I'm sure you won't regret it.
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