The 22nd Annual Textile Heritage Festival will be held this year on Saturday, September 28th from 10 am to 4 pm on the Historic Zachary House grounds on Church Street in Cooleemee.
What happens when a person gets amnesia? If it’s bad enough, that person loses their identity. That’s because, in many ways, we are the sum total of our memories. That also holds true for communities. Memories of Cooleemee and its hard working people are revived each year by holding a reunion to cement hometown identity and revive the stories that will be passed down to future generations.
Live Music, Great Food and the Carolina Cornbread Contest
In addition to live music, there will be great food. The Carolina Cornbread Contest, now in its 4th year, will be accepting entries of mouth-watering cornbread to be sampled or eaten with a hot bowl of Bob Cranford’s Needmore Pintos. Walter Ferrell and his crew will be selling Bar-B-Que from the old cook shack’s window, along with all-the-way hot dogs. Plenty of cakes, pies and other sweets will be on sale at the Company Store tent along with Bullhole T-shirts and other items.
Funnel Cake, Face Painting and Lots of Family Fun
At this year’s festival, volunteers who teach history to local school children will be manning a new display sharing Discovering Our Heritage’s first grade lesson. Titled “Kids Chores in Old Cooleemee,” every child learns about what the responsibilities that young children used to perform to help their families survive. Kids of all ages will be able to perform some of those chores if they don’t mind a little work. There will even be an original coloring book depicting these chores as well as the fun children made up themselves.
There will be a good array of craft vendors selling their wares and the “Funnel Cake Lady” will once again make the trip down from Bostic, NC to fill the air will that distinct aroma. Kids will enjoy having their faces painted and then turning their painting skills to make faces on pumpkins.
The Cooleemee Recreation Department will be holding a kids swim suit contest at the Festival to raise money for the Town’s new Splash & Swim Center. The contest will be won by the child whose jar (with photo) is filled with the most cash. You can get started now.
For more info call (336) 284-6040. All proceeds for this fall festival go towards operating Davie County’s two museums in this former cotton mill town. The Cooleemee Historical Association is now celebrating its founding twenty-four years ago.