BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — The Martin County Harvest Festival is opening its streets — and its menu — to vendors preparing for the festival’s 30th anniversary Sept. 18-19 in downtown Inez.

Applications are now available for craft and retail vendors, as well as for vendors selling prepackaged or baked food items.

Download the application here.

“We are excited to welcome a wide variety of vendors to this year’s festival,” Martin County Kiwanis Club President Melissa Phelps said.

Vendors operating an on-site food preparation booth follow a separate process.

“One thing that makes the Martin County Harvest Festival unique is our commitment to helping every food vendor have the opportunity to succeed,” Phelps said.

The festival does not allow vendors to duplicate prepared food items. Returning vendors receive the first opportunity to reserve the foods they have traditionally sold. Once those selections are complete, remaining menu items may be assigned to new or franchised vendors.

Phelps said this system helps minimize direct competition among vendors, encourages a wider variety of food choices for guests and gives each vendor the best chance to have a successful weekend.

“Our goal has always been to create a festival where everyone can win—vendors, nonprofits, local businesses and, most importantly, the thousands of visitors who come to enjoy everything the Martin County Harvest Festival has to offer,” she said.

Prepared-food vendors should email [email protected] to ask about available menu items or to be added to the waiting list for future openings.

“We can’t wait to welcome everyone for another amazing weekend of food, fun, music, shopping and community,” Phelps said.