Poke Sallet Festival wraps up for 2024

The 69th Annual Poke Sallet Festival drew to a close Saturday evening with Kimberly Perry’s performance capping off three days of festivities. With this year’s Poke Sallet Festival now history, here’s a look at this year’s edition of the three-day festival many have declared a must attend event.

According to the Poke Sallet Festival’s Facebook page, Saturday saw the conclusion of the yearly Poke Idol contest, a singing competition based on the American Idol format. Poke Idol contestants went through a multi-day process competing on the main stage for the top prize. In the end, Ava Fields took home the top honors, barely edging out first runner up Caroline Patterson and second runner up Zack Collins.

In addition to the events on the grounds of the Harlan Center, downtown Harlan got into the spirit with the Sue Ford Memorial Car Show taking place on Saturday, with 107 classic vehicles lining the streets outside the Harlan County Courthouse. Vintage restored or customized Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, and other vehicles were on display for all to see, bringing a smile to the faces of all classic car lovers in attendance.

Another Poke Sallet Festival tradition continued during this year’s festival with a meet and greet with University of Kentucky Defensive End Octavious Oxendine appearing to the delight of U.K. football fans. Oxendine was available for photos and autographs for several hours at the Harlan Center on Saturday.

Also inside the Harlan Center, festival attendees found all sorts of merchandise available from an extensive collection of vendors. Folks perused the booths checking out all sorts of unique items while chatting with friends, neighbors, and strangers about topics of interest.

In addition to the nationally touring music acts such as Kimberly Perry, Rebecca St. James, Eldon Huff, and the Bon Jovi Tribute act Crush, hometown musicians were well represented on the main stage throughout the event. Local favorites including The Kudzu Killers, The Big Thunder Kissin’ Radio Band, Shyla Raleigh, Brooklyn Collins Burkhart, Lacy Deaton, and others kept up a steady stream of great performances for the delight of music lovers.

As the festival came to a close following Perry’s well received performance, festival goers headed off toward their homes with smiles on their faces, many already looking forward to whatever next year’s Poke Sallet Festival may have in store.

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