The community of Hardy is preparing for the annual Hardy Homesteaders Day slated for Sept. 30 and according to Crystal Gray, in similar to last year’s fashion, the event will be held along Main Street and at Loberg Park.
“It is located along Main Street in Hardy, but the main part is in Loberg Park. What we do there is we’re celebrating the founding of Hardy in 1883,” Gray said.
The celebration kicks off at 9 a.m. and will feature a large variety of demonstrations.
So, we bring in the chuck wagons and do some Dutch oven cooking and have homemade beans, chili, ho cakes and we have other demonstrators to celebrate the event,” Gray said.
Other demonstrations this year include folk music, spinning, bee hives and honey, blacksmithing, branding, quilting demonstrations, wagon rides, butter churning, doll making, candle making, rustic woodworking, lye soap making, crosscut saw demonstrations, beard contest, 1883s dress contest for men, women and children, old fashioned games, food and more.
The event is free to attend, and Gray said the event is a great way to feature life from a era long past.
“We want everyone to see what it was like in those days and what it took to build hardy into what it is now,” Gray said.
The night prior, a there is something new this year taking place the night prior.
The Homesteaders Hoedown Square Dance will take place Sept. 29 at the Hardy Civic Center from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. and food trucks will be open beginning at 6 p.m. and admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and under.
If you are unable to attend the dance, you will still have an opportunity during Homesteaders Day when the Hardy Junction Band takes to the main stage in Loberg Park beginning at 9:30 a.m., Whetstone will take the stage from 12:30 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. On the new mini stage in Loberg Park, Mike McLeod will perform from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. followed by Joe Chipman from 12:30p.m. until 2:30 p.m.
In Dr. Thompson Park, Patti Dunlap with Dan and Troy will perform from 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.followed by Down Yonder from 1:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m.
On Main and Spring Street off Main Street, The Duncans will perform from 10 a.m. until 12 noonfollowed by Brent Foster The Modern Hillbilly from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.
Lauren is a an award-winning journalist who decided after 10 years of newspaper experience to venture out. Hallmark Times was born.
