By Kim Walter - Daily Correspondent

MT. JACKSON -- This weekend event may sound familiar, but the Mt. Jackson Apple Harvest Bluegrass Festival on Oct. 8-9 is all new.

In years past, Mt. Jackson put on an Apple-Grape Harvest Festival, but had to cancel it last year. A group of concerned citizens, unhappy with the cancellation, came together a few months later and formed the Mount Jackson Festival Foundation. Joe Proctor and Willie Meadows, president and vice president of the foundation, "started the venture about eight months ago, and [have] been working hand in hand since," said Meadows. "We're just really tickled that it's finally happening."

As usual, admission is free for the weekend, and you can find parking Saturday at Food Lion, or at the Native American Industry on Saturday and Sunday. If you're having trouble finding a spot close by, Shenandoah Caverns is providing its bandwagon to take people to the festivities or just around town.

The actual festival will be located at the recently finished Visitors Center Park, just north of the town hall. Everything will take place there except for Sunday's car show and petting zoo, which you will find in the Food Lion parking lot. There will be very minimal street closings, according to Meadows.

While the committee is still in the planning process, so far there are 15 confirmed food vendors and 45 craft vendors. The food vendors will all serve different types of local cuisine and "there shouldn't be any overlapping," said Meadows. He emphasized that the entertainment, and the craft and food vendors are all local. "It's all about people getting to know their neighbor," he said.

The Mt. Jackson festival will also be alcohol free, stressing that it is meant to be family oriented.

Local art and craft vendors will demonstrate things like glass-blowing, a blacksmith, chair-caning and a man who inserts edible mushrooms, which will continue to grow, into logs. Meadows is also hoping to hold a few old-fashioned festival contests like pie-eating, pie-baking and maybe even a three-legged race. The bluegrass element was added to the festival's name because it's a favorite genre throughout the area. However, not all the entertainment will be strictly bluegrass.

"Well we've been asked, 'What are you gonna do if not all the music is bluegrass, won't people be upset?' and I just say we paint the grass in front of the town hall blue," Meadows said with a laugh. "That's a joke, of course."

The Mt. Jackson Apple Harvest Bluegrass Festival is still planning for this year's event, so if you have additional questions, call 477-3115, visit www.mtjff.com or look up the Mt. Jackson Festival Foundation on Facebook.

If You Go

• Info: 540-477-3115
• Web: www.mtjff.com