The 13th Annual Union County Heritage Festival "Come Here, Come Home", with over 5,000 in attendance, was a great success and had something for everyone. The festival included various activities and vendors at Wilson Park, student and fine art shows at the Historic Snodderly House, a photography show at the Chamber of Commerce, and a quilt and author’s show at the museum.

HistoricUnionCounty.com had a booth where you could sign up for their weekly newsletter and enter to win one of Betty Bullen’s prints “Coming Home”. It has been determined that Kathy Ellis has won the drawing and may pick up her copy of Betty Bullen’s “Coming Home” at the Union County Vendor Mall. Shirley McMurtrie, a regular contributor on the site, was in attendance and sold her new Church Cookbook.

Thunder Road Printing & Graphic Design sponsored the annual event “Under the Tree Project” by holding a drawing for a large print of Smoky, the UT mascot. The lucky winner was Ms. Joanne Rosenbalm. The proceeds will go to purchase Christmas gifts to be distributed by Union County Children’s Charities, Inc.

The VFW post 8682, American Legion post 212 and the Tri County Honor Guard had a booth supporting our Troops and recruiting veterans. Ronnie Mincey and Bill Sexton with the Lions Club sold Italian Ice. Martin Shafer displayed his hit and miss engines, along with his hand-crafted novelties, while demonstrating sleight of hand tricks. There was even a medieval reenactment of a sword fight in the grassy area. There were booths from area churches to share the Gospel of Christ. Many handmade crafts, jewelry, and furniture items were on display and for sale at various booths throughout the festival. Local business had several booths where you could learn more about the products and services they offer. There was a corn mill on site where you could get corn meal. The festival included many activities and games for children and several contests for all to enjoy. There were also several antique cars and engines on display.

Music could be heard all around the festival with Jim Woods singing “Union County Dirt” on the front porch stage and Ray Bull and Friends singing gospel songs in another tent. There was singing and dancing throughout the festival at different locations.

There were all kinds of festival foods including cotton candy, funnel cakes, dumplings, homemade ice cream, hamburgers, sandwiches, and much, much more.

The festival has many sponsors including individuals, businesses, and government bodies.

This festival truly gets better each year and while there are many involved in planning the festivities, one person who is a major contributor to the success of the Union County Heritage Festival is the festival President, Marilyn Toppins. Marilyn, along with the rest of the board, sponsors, contributors and vendors work tirelessly to oversee every detail of the festival and ensure everything goes smoothly so we can have a Heritage Festival we are truly proud of. Thank you, Marilyn and all involved for all of your hard work.