CulpeperFest a great reason to enjoy the community

Everyone has heard the term “staycation” by now. Though traveling may not be in this year’s budget, having fun should always stay on the schedule. Culpeper has a great deal to offer when it comes to fun. There are so many things to do right here in Culpeper that a staycation can feel as relaxing as a vacation getaway.

One of the favorite local getaways has gators, beach music, and all the food that you can eat. Sounds like Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, or the Bahamas, perhaps Key Largo, Montego, or even down at Cocomo? No … this is really just here in your favorite small town of Culpeper. The gators will be moving materials around helping businesses set up their booths. We have The Band of Oz back by popular demand. We have all of the barbeque chicken, pork, sausage, and catfish that you can eat. We are serving the famous Brusters Ice Cream at the ice cream stand. We have antique tractors to see. We have exhibitors and sponsors ready to wow you with their displays. We have hundreds of friends and family getting together. We have tall tents, we have free stuff — what a great celebration of Culpeper. This all happens on June 4 at the Daniel Technology Center here in Culpeper at CulpeperFest 2009.

It is important to state that this is CulpeperFest “2009” because CulpeperFest began 28 years ago in 1982. The Chamber of Commerce developed the celebration of Culpeper to showcase our businesses and to bring together friends and family for several hours of food and fun.

According to Joe Kessee, the event was first held at the pavilion at Mountain Run Lake. Joe was at the first CulpeperFest in 1982 and remains on the CulpeperFest committee today. This is a community at its best when we have folks involved in the celebration dating back 28 years. Joe tells of the locations that CulpeperFest has been held over the years. Each location is time-stamped with rich stories of the CulpeperFest held there.

From Mountain Run Lake, the event moved to the Agricultural Enterprises location right on Route 29 south of town. One year the celebration went on into the evening as travelers were stopping off of the highway to hear the great music. The event then moved to Commonwealth Park. This apparently was a collaboration with another event staged to make the stadium look full for TV advertisers showing the horse competitions on live broadcasts — business creativity at its best!

It then moved back to the Agricultural Enterprises location. Then it was held at a private farm. Then to Willow Run where Gov. Warner actually made a visit to CulpeperFest only to be followed by an actual tornado that touched down near the event during his visit — an interesting memory of Culpeper.

Finally, the event is held at the Germanna’s Daniel Technology Center. We have huge tents set up to showcase the business exhibits. We have the cool air conditioned conference room set up where the food is served. Our volunteers are the very best — they come back year-after-year to work side-by-side with their friends and associates to make CulpeperFest an event, by friends and for friends, in support of our business community. Tickets are on sale at the Depot through Thursday and online at CulpeperFest.com.