A quaint waterfront town, its residents settled in chairs, on blankets and touring along the promenade. Many vendors hawking their locally made wares line waterfront. On one end, farmers sell their homegrown produce; bakers sell fresh bread. On the other end, an outdoor stage boasts an up-and-coming band wowing its audience with songs that make people stop and sing along.
If you take a stroll downtown in Washington next Saturday, that’s exactly what you’ll find — music, food, friends and shopping finds. It’s a combination of the Saturday Market, the Washington Harbor District Alliance’s Marine Market and the Beaufort County Arts Council’s BoCO Music Festival, all along the waterfront, all day long.
A slew of people make it happen — starting with WHDA Director Beth Byrd and BCAC Executive Director Joey Toler and on to the many volunteers who help in the planning and execution of a combined event that will take over downtown. But if the start of such a project is those two agency directors and the momentum for it built by their many volunteers, where does it end?
Easy — it ends with us. It ends with inviting guests into town to experience this really cool thing Washington has put together. It ends with a stroll downtown to eat some clam chowder, pick up a few homegrown vegetables or lie on a blanket and listen to the music and the river. It ends with recognizing that it’s just not necessary to travel to some other town, go to some other festival, because we’ve got it all right here.
The people who make BoCO and Marine Market happen are working hard to put Washington on the map of fun and interesting places. So let’s all go on down to the waterfront next Saturday and show them just how fun and interested we are.