For more than 40 years, with some time off during the pandemic, Pilot Mountain and Mayfest have been offering area residents and visitors alike a chance to enjoy a picturesque downtown with that great view of the mountain.
Folks at Mayfest could shop through arts and crafts offerings while enjoying live music and sorting through lots of options to find their favorite food truck choice. Funds raised benefit the Pilot Mountain Civic Club’s many year-round efforts.
It was time to shine even through some rain during the festival. Weather can be uncooperative sometimes for weekend events in this area with the Wine and Craft Beer Budbreak festival last weekend in Mount Airy seeing a good soaking.
Rain may have kept some in their cars for a few minutes or kept them parked under an awning but that was little concern to some. If browsing the stalls for arts and crafts were on someone’s agenda, it was going to take more than that.
Folks at Mayfest carried the same spirit of resilience of the Budbreakers with them as some smiles turned to frowns Saturday when the weather changed — but they carried on and a rainbow was waiting on the other side.
Lined up along Main Street were vendor’s stalls from Stephens Street down to Academy Street with the food trucks forking a finger down Depot Street and a stage was set up next to Town Hall for live bands.
Folks could shop from handmade crafts, foodstuffs like craft barbecue sauces, mine for gems, or even find live plants for sale while meandering down the road.
Perhaps an eye-catching piece of pottery from Sylvia Lawson was a last minute Mother’s Day purchase. She is known to people in this area and beyond for her pottery creations that often feature Pilot Mountain.
Mayfest organizers said Lawson is the longest attendee to the festival. She donated one of her pieces which was on display inside the Love the Library tea and auction that were going on nearby at the First United Methodist Church.
A good crowd was seen on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons with as much standing around and chatting going on as there was shopping. With a crowd not as large as for some of the other street festivals in this area, there was not the press of flesh that makes some folks uncomfortable or claustrophobic and feels on-brand for the style and pace of Pilot Mountain.
It afforded the chance for friends and neighbors to stop and talk to one another in little clusters as their tykes could wander a few feet away without concern, an oversized connect four type game standing outside Main Street Coffee beckoning to them.
Rebecca Burch from Tobaccoville said she was having a good time, and that supporting local craftspeople feels good. “I’ve known the struggles of running a small local business. So, when I see something that catches my eye I get that feeling like ‘I have to have it.’ It helps them but c’mon, it’s for me.”
Vendors like Randy Willard certainly appreciate that point of view. He said he had a fantastic over the weekend and hopes to participate in the event again next year, “Great people and a big thank you to the Pilot Mountain Civic Club and all the people behind the scenes.”
Pilot Mountain Mayor Evan Cockerham offered his congratulations to the Pilot Mountain Civic Club for another successful event. He wrote, “Most people do not see the hours and energy that these servant-citizens put into organizing and hosting an event like this every year. This was the 41st Mayfest. Four decades of volunteers carrying the torch and making sure one of our town’s most cherished traditions is alive and thriving. Thank you to everyone who made this happen.”
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