WEST JEFFERSON — Sleigh bells ring; are you listenin’? Ok, well not really…but a Christmasy energy and cheerful crowds covered downtown West Jefferson for the 2024 Christmas in July Festival, and it was a bright, clear, sunny day! However, the only ice or bells to be heard was the tinkling of ice in cups of cold drinks!
There was a wide variety of stalls, booths, vendors, and non-profit organizations for the revelers to visit, all in celebration of this country’s birthday and the beginning of the summer season. This is an annual event that each year brings in large numbers of locals as well as visitors from outside of the community for the festivities, celebrations, vendors, and entertainment. It is always an extra boon when the entire day is sunny and rainless, as it was this year.
Among the booths stood the shared booths of the Ashe County Republican Party (Ashe GOP) and the Ashe County NC Republican Women’s Club (ACNCRW). The booths hosted the Ashe GOP Quilt Raffle, the ACNCRW Gun Raffle, Candidates Corner, and Voter Registration, as well as a plethora of Party and Election merchandise, memorabilia, and voter education materials.
The valiant volunteers who manned the Ashe GOP/ACNCRW booths reported having “an awesome time.” Over 100 people visited the booths, it was a steady stream all day. This included quite a number of visitors to the county. Additionally, lots of folks passed the booths on their way to and from various vendors and gave a big smile and thumbs up to the crew in the booth.
The crew of volunteers from both the Ashe GOP and the ACNCRW were cheerfully arrayed in red, white, and blue while manning the tables and answering questions from the visitors. The booth staff reported that “a lot of people kept saying “Trump HAS to win”. Many visitors also remarked on the “horrible debate from Biden.” They all agreed that we need to get the vote out.
Vote conservative and prosper!
The Ashe GOP Quilt Raffle was won by a visitor who came to the festival from eastern North Carolina. The drawing for the ACNCRW Gin Raffle will be on Sept. 13 at the ACNCRW Women’s Leadership Symposium and Dinner. Tickets for the Gun Raffle as well as tickets to the Symposium are still available until then and may be purchased at the Ashe GOP/ACNCRW Headquarters at 519 B East Main Street in Jefferson. Office hours are currently Wednesday through Saturday from Noon to 2 p.m. Office hours may extend as we get closer to the election. Watch the Ashe County Republican Party website at https://ashe.nc.gop/ and the Ashe County NC Republican Women’s Club website at www.acncrw.org for updates on the office hours and the schedule of upcoming Party events in our county.
The Candidates Corner, always popular with local citizens, was visited by Virginia Foxx-US House Representative and Candidate, Ray Pickett-NC House of Representative and Candidate, Michelle Morrow-Candidate for NC Superintendent of Public Instruction, Todd McNeill-Chairman of Ashe Commissioners and County Commissioner Candidate, Wes Greene-Candidate for County Commissioner, Russell Killen – Candidate for County Commissioner, and others. Bryson Weaver, Northwest Regional Political Director for the North Carolina Republican Party and Regional Political Director for the Trump Campaign was also present to answer questions and spread the good vibes of the winning Republican ticket. Even Uncle Sam came by the booths!
Local conservatives are invited and encouraged to attend the monthly Ashe GOP meetings on the third Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at Sweet and Savory in West Jefferson. Local Conservative Ladies are invited and encouraged to also attend the monthly ACNCRW meetings on the last Thursday of each month at 11 a.m. at Glendale Springs Inn and Restaurant for their catered luncheon meeting. Details and dates for these meetings as well as the updated schedule of local events can be found respectively at the Ashe County Republican Party website at https://ashe.nc.gop/ and the Ashe County NC Republican Women’s Club website at www.acncrw.org.
VOTE — It’s our Right, it’s our Responsibility.
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