When Caledonia Days kicks off Friday at 6 p.m. with the first of three free concerts, Nikki Brock will see the event from a new perspective.
Although she’s been attending the town’s annual fall celebration since she was a teen and has been one of the many volunteers supporting the event, Brock is director for the 16th annual Caledonia Days this year. The new role comes with a unique set of challenges.
“Work,” she said. “There’s so much work involved in this. There’s always something that needs your attention.”
Brock took over as director this year from Amanda Boltwood, who served in the role for three years. Boltwood, in turn, replaced Tammy McCool, who had been the director of Caledonia Days for four years.
Although Brock is now the third director in five years, she’s had the benefit of her predecessors with planning this year’s event.
“Both Tammy and Amanda have helped me so much,” Brock said.”They’ve both been my right-hand man. I really couldn’t have done this without their help.”
Gates open at Ola J. Pickett Park at 5 p.m. Friday. Local rockabilly group Rust Bucket Roadies will kick off the event with a 6 p.m. concert, followed by nationally-known country artists Jeff Bates and Doug Stone. Friday activities will end with a fireworks show.
Unlike last year, when the event experimented with a ticketed concert, Friday’s concerts are free admission.
Saturday’s events will begin at 8:30 a.m. and include a pet parade, car show, a children’s play area and food and crafts booths operated by roughly 90 vendors.
“We’re expecting another great festival this year,” Mayor Mitch Wiggins said. “I want to invite everyone out this weekend for a beautiful fall weekend of festivities up home in Caledonia.”
With a population of about 1,100 people, Caledonia brings almost 10 times that for the event.
“We’ll probably have anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 people come out,” Brock said. “That’s pretty incredible, when you think about it.
“I”m not really sure exactly why it’s grown the way it has,” she added. “It just seems to grow and grow. I think one of the reasons is that there’s so many things to do and see. There’s something for everybody.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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