Saturday’s 11th Gateway to the Delta Festival, held around the Court Square in Charleston, was yet another great event in a long line of them for organizers of this community affair.
With the exception of some wind gusts of up to 20 mph that caused fits by threatening to blow over some canopies — succeeding, unfortunately, in a few instances — the weather was gorgeous. Festival organizers really lucked out on that front.
The Tallahatchie County Courthouse, its exterior gleaming from a recent freshening up and its grounds immaculate as always, was encircled by dozens of vendor booths; food trucks; a children’s recreational area complete with inflatables, a petting zoo, games and activities; beautiful classic and some newer cars, trucks big and small and even a 1940s model tractor that were part of Gateway’s car show; and the list goes on.
To the casual observer, it seemed there was something that would attract the interest of just about anyone in attendance.
Oh, and we have not even mentioned the music. Throughout the day and into the night, various excellent acts representing a wide range of musical genres entertained the crowd from a professional stage stationed, as always, adjacent to the Charleston Arts Center. Classy all the way.
Ping Pong Paris, longtime and recently retired football play-by-play man for a Charleston Tigers radio broadcast, was, we thought, masterful as the master of ceremonies, aka emcee. (And, Ping, the silence has been deafening on Friday nights.)
Gateway drew a crowd of thousands into Charleston this past weekend, and we hope the vast majority of them would say they had a nice time.
Organizers of the Gateway to the Delta Festival, a special committee of volunteers who serve under the umbrella of the Charleston Arts and Revitalization Effort (CARE), work long and hard throughout the year to bring this event to life. There is hardly a lull between the close of one festival and the beginning of preparations for the next.
The generous contributions of dozens of corporate, business and individual sponsors make the Gateway festival possible, and free for all to attend.
Many small cities and towns, and even some unincorporated rural areas, host festivals and similar events nowadays, and we think that is great.
Such activities bring people together and create a greater sense of community. They build goodwill. They attract visitors, some of whom spend a few dollars and, hopefully, leave to tell others about the wonderful experience in Charleston.
