BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Warm weather and festivals are the perfect match. So get excited because the Martin County Harvest Festival is returning to Court Street in September with its biggest carnival yet.
Set for Sept. 12 and 13, the festival will feature carnival rides, delicious food, a vendors market, live music and entertainment, the annual parade and more.
Kiwanis Club members met Thursday at Giovanni’s in Inez to discuss plans and share exciting updates.
“We started bumming money this week,” Kiwanis president Melissa Phelps said.
That groundwork is already paying off.
Among the confirmed attractions are a growing list of carnival rides: Tubs of Fun, Reckless, Carousel, Swings, Paddle Boats, Bumper Cars and a Bounce House.
“We’re going to have a lot,” said Phelps.
The club voted to lock in the rides with a deposit to ensure the expanded carnival becomes a reality.
The music lineup is also shaping up to be a major draw. Phelps announced that a Sony Nashville recording artist will headline the main stage Saturday, Sept. 13 with an opening act already lined up.
“I’ve not received the official flyer from them yet, for us to release it,” she said. “But that announcement is coming.”
Phelps is also in talks to book additional performers for both Friday and Saturday nights, promising a weekend packed with live entertainment.
Interest from vendors is already heating up. Calls have started pouring in to Kiwanis members Lana Jo Young and Susie Skyles from vendors wanting to secure their spots for the two-day event.
The Harvest Festival is still months away, but the Kiwanis Club’s summer schedule is buzzing.
First up is the Independence Day Parade in Inez on Saturday, July 5. The parade begins at 6:30 p.m., with the lineup at 6 p.m. at the Inez swimming pool. Phelps encourages everyone to decorate and walk or ride in the parade.
Kiwanis will also run its popular lemonade booth during the Fourth of July block party in the Collier Center parking lot July 5.
The lemonade truck will stay busy all summer. It returns for Summer Jam Sessions behind the courthouse July 18 and Aug. 15 and for the Appalachian Artist Festival on Aug. 2.
Last Friday, the truck made an appearance at the Bluegrass Jam Session on Court Street.
On Tuesday, club members served up a “Hillbilly Breakfast for supper” to more than 250 Appalachia Reach Out volunteers with Encuentro Missions. That event took place at the Inez Free Will Baptist Church gymnasium.
Alongside event planning, the Kiwanis Club is continuing to give back. Members voted Thursday to donate to the Martin County FCCLA, helping students fund their trip to the national competition this summer.
“They always make our quilt for the Harvest Fest free of charge,” Phelps said.
Next week’s meeting will feature the 2025 Kiwanis scholarship recipients as special guests.