By Amy Davis
On Saturday, April 13, 2019, Buford held its inaugural Spring Festival along Main Street celebrating the recent coming of spring. Bright booths, delicious foods, and skillful entertainment made the overall experience even more memorable. This event benefited both adults and children as the booths had activities and information for both parties.
For the children, many tents had interactive games for them to play. The “Color My Day” cubicle had a black and white sheet for people to color in, bouncy castles were always full of children releasing all their energy, and one tent even had a place for slime and bracelet making. Most other booths gave out candy or little prizes when children spun a vibrantly painted wheel.
Kids were not the only ones who had fun, though. Older patrons could visit exceedingly different booths containing anything from clothing and jewelry to plants and beauty products. Many of the organizations represented at the Spring Festival were also doing raffle drawings for their merchandise.
The main attraction was the talent contest. Singers and musicians, most of whom were from the local School of Rock organization, performed for the Buford crowd in three age divisions: Young Professionals, Teen Music, and Young Musical Talent.
Starr Phipps won the Young Professionals category. The Teen Music category winner, School of Rock 80’s New Wave Band, beat out School of Rock 80’s Hair Band, Emma Burnett, and Kaitlyn Corcoran.
Christa Hillstrand won the Young Musical Talent category, edging out Chloe Nhan, Ava Fields, The Morgan Triplets (of Dana Rice’s FAME Studio), Emma Allen, and three bands from School of Rock: The Microscopic Lobster, The 6 Musketeers, and Feathers and Arrows.
Each winner was given a certificate and a check for $100. It didn’t matter the type of music they sang or how old the performers were — what mattered was their skill and dedication. The more involved the bands or singers were, the better their score was. Energy and passion really made the music more enjoyable for both the entertainers and the audience.
Without help from a few people and organizations, though, Buford’s Spring Festival wouldn’t have happened. The Festival sponsors included VoiceNation, Trend Transformations, The Piedmont Group, and the North Gwinnett Voice. The event was hosted by the Buford Business Alliance and the City of Buford. Also, thank you to Dannella Burnett and Encore Elite Events for putting together this wonderful festival.
The Buford community has many holiday festivals around the course of a year, but never before have they hosted a spring celebration. Everyone from all age groups appeared to enjoy the festivities, and not a single negative comment was made. Smiles, laughter, and other joyous commotion enveloped the crowd, thus spreading happiness between all the patrons in attendance. From time to time, who doesn’t love a lazy day filled with appetizing food and listening to young local musicians play their hearts out? The event was all about fun and family!
