Aulander Harvest Festival continues to grow

The Ole Man Gang Smoke and Soul made their first appearance at the Aulander Harvest Festival last weekend and ‘the gang’ was overwhelmed with the response to the new venture.

“The Aulander Festival was a great family affair with bounce houses, food trucks, craft and artisan vendors along with entertainment,” said Howard Hunter III.

One of the highlights of the event was the opening act, E3 Band. With a similar name and appearance of a well known New Jersey group, the E3 band comes from Newport News, VA and plays many of those songs that originated on the Jersey shore.

Aulander Town Clerk Lynne Connor was especially excited about the attendance.

“We had over 200 people this year and it truly was the most organized, less stressful event we have had since I have been here. It was the best one yet. We want to make it bigger and better next year,” said Connor.

The food vendors at the event impressed the crowd and from the looks of the lines, each of the vendors enjoyed the day.

“We had six food vendors, including The Ole Man Gang, Hope 4 Snow, Brylei’s Southern Conez, Frozen Fantasies, YummyYumz and Mercy Church BBQ,” said Jade Sutton.

Sutton played an important role in the event organizing the 20 merchandising vendors at the festival.

“The 20 vendors sold a wide variety of items including handmade soaps, wood pieces, jewelry, pickles, photography and more. We offered free face painting and caricatures during the event and the E3 Band kicked us off with awesome classic rock,” said Sutton.

The Chozen Soundz Jazz Duo closed us out the festival with a selection of jazz tunes that kept the crowd moving. DJ Bonnie Jones kept the music going in between the live acts.

The Kids’ Zone was equipped with two bouncy houses for toddlers and big kids, pumpkin bowling, apple tic tac toe and a DIY Jack-o-Lantern craft station.

Connor claims plans are in the making for the next Harvest Festival 2025.

“We want to make the festival more successful each year. We are on our way,” said Connor.