By Luke Weir
The Village Vision Festival is ready to celebrate community, local food, and service for a good cause in downtown Boone on Sunday, May 6 from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Festival director Christina Bailey said Village Vision will provide all day fun for everyone, while simultaneously fundraising to help put fresh, local food on more tables around the High Country.
“The festival is definitely a community collaborative project, it’s all volunteer-based,” Bailey said. “There’s going to be a bunch of local music, workshops, and playshops for the kids—we’ve got some fun dance workshops and acroyoga, and we’ll have arts & crafts vendors set up all along the street, plus local food and beer for sale.”
Included in the lineup is headliner Melissa Reaves, also known as the Queen of Action, who Bailey said always puts on a rocking show, as well as The Loose Roosters and Kong Must Dead, along with an all-day assortment of other music made in and inspired by the High Country mountains.
“This is our fourth year doing the festival,” Bailey said. “In the past, it has taken place at Daniel Boone Park, where the farmer’s market is, but this year we decided to move it downtown, which will hopefully give us more visibility, and a nice change of scenery.”
This year, the festival grounds are on North Depot Street, in the parking lot adjacent to Lost Province Brewing Company, and in the yard of the Watauga County Public Library, Bailey said.
While the good times roll on the first Sunday of May, funds raised during Village Vision will benefit local federal nutrition program recipients long after the festival is over, Bailey said.
“Ticket prices are a suggested donation—nobody will get turned away,” Bailey said. “The festival is a fundraiser for the Double Up Food Bucks program at the farmers’ market, so people with EBT or food stamps can go and get their money doubled to spend on fresh, local food.”
Double Up Food Bucks is a program of Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture, a local nonprofit on a mission to strengthen the High Country’s local food system by supporting women and their families with resources, education, and skills related to sustainable food and agriculture, according to their website.
According to the Double Up Food Bucks webpage, the program offers a three-fold benefit: helping low-income consumers access more healthy, locally produced food; helping local farmers gain new customers and make more money; and keeping food dollars in the local community.
About 13% of households in North Carolina’s fifth congressional district, including the High Country, were recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as of 2016, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
Bailey said Village Vision is a major fundraiser for the Double Up Food Bucks program, in addition to other large events and service projects throughout the year.
Presale tickets are available—with a t-shirt included—before May 1, for a reduced suggested donation amount of $15 for adults, or $10 for students. At the festival, the price of admission will be in the suggested donation range of $15-30. For children ages 12 and under, admission is free. A link to buy tickets can be found on the Village Vision Festival 2018 Facebook event page.
“Village Vision has constantly brought new, awesome waves of community passion and support, with new people always jumping on board to volunteer,” Bailey said. “We wouldn’t be able to make it happen without all the community excitement and support, we’re excited to see everyone at the festival.”
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