Easel on down the road

As most youngsters know, the gold standard of any civic carnival is whether or not it offers pony rides.

For that reason alone, the young’uns will be giving Madison County’s 17th annual Taste of the Mountains Main Street Festival their seal of approval. The eagerly awaited event will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. held Saturday in the little Virginia town that puts the “Q” on quaint and the “F” on friendly.

The wee ones will be straining hard to pull the big eaters toward the circling ponies, but they’ll have their hands full. Distractions aplenty will be causing steps to stray here and there along the main drag of historic downtown Madison.

The shindig is aptly named, so visitors will want to show up hungry as a homeless hound. There’s sure to be some deep appreciation for the aroma, texture and taste of Kite’s country-cured hams and ham biscuits.

The hearty hams have taken top prizes at competitions such as the American Cured Meat Championships — and inspired musician Larry Gardner to write a song about them. Food writers and gastronomists such as Craig Claiborne with the New York Times and Graham Kerr — the Galloping Gourmet — have penned poetic about the year-long-cured hams that have cloaked themselves in culinary glory.

The Madison 4-H Dairy Club will be dishing out plenty of its homemade ice cream. Mike and Melissa Martin also will have churned up an ample supple of Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, made fresh each day.

Those who want a little cushioning for the sweet stuff might want to mosey over to the Madison County High School and Primary School fields on Hoover Ridge, where the local farmer’s market will be offering free fruit crepes made with locally produced eggs from 8 a.m. to noon. Nearby, sizzling Backfield Farm kielbasas will be enfolded by the goodness of Mary Ruth’s fresh baked rolls.

Visitors can watch an ongoing charcoal making demonstration — and they haven’t even gotten out of the parking area. Once guests get shuttled into town, the folks at the United Methodist church will be serving up breakfast.

The Madison County Volunteer Fire Department will be offering its famously succulent steak sandwiches, and Pig ’n Steak will have plenty of its barbecue, slaw and baked beans standing by to satisfy.

A profusion of other food vendors will be basting the breeze with the enticing aroma of crispy chicken, sweet potato fries, apple cider and many other delectables.

Vying for air space will be the sound of the mountains. Getting things going from 9 to 11 a.m. will be Second Time Around playing Southern rock favorites. Next up from 11 a.m. to noon will be Scuffletown, composed of festival favorites John Whitlow and Marc Carraway, who will be playing blues to bluegrass.

Frank Necessary, who has been playing bluegrass music for 40 years, will entertain the lunch crowd from noon to 12:30 p.m. David Leckie Gilmore then will offer great guitar licks with plenty of good humor from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. The Dark Hollow Bluegrass Band will perform from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

In the sights category, members of Fredericksburg’s Antique Automobile Club of America will be exhibiting some of their most treasured vehicles.

Civil War re-enactors with the Seventh Virginia Infantry also will be in town to provide attendees with a realistic look at soldier’s camp life back in the 1860s.

Wes Iseli the Magician will be amazing folks with his sleight of hand and seemingly bottomless bag of tricks.

Add to this a certified handwriting specialist who has worked with the FBI, plusauthors such as Ann Mullen and James Herndon. There even will be bonsai tree-styling demonstrations throughout the day.

If all this isn’t enough to shake a body out of the La-Z-Boy recliner, there’ll be oodles of artists and craftspeople presenting the work they’re mighty proud of.

Nationally-renowned artist Lou Messa is a festival regular, as is E.A. Clore and Sons Inc., which has been making exquisite furniture in Madison County since 1830.

A new feature of the festival this year is the Madison Arts Exchange at 117 N. Main St. Started by Janine Jensen, it will be hosting an art show and sale showcasing the works of more than a dozen local artists.

Items range from paintings in oil, pastels and watercolors to photographs, pottery and scrimshaw on powder horns.

“I’ve made a joke of calling it my own little stimulus package,” Jensen said of the show and sale. “I had a vacancy in the building, which I own, so I thought about doing some type of friends-helping-friends thing.

“Madison County is a hotbed for crafters and artisans, but they really have to leave the community to be shown, which is a shame. So this is a way to get them some exposure and hopefully earn some additional income.

“Initially this was to be a one-shot thing, but artists are coming out of the woodwork and really like the idea. I’m not in a position to be open daily right now, but I’m looking at holding monthly events.”

Jensen works in publishing and will be offering at half price new books and stationery she thinks will appeal to people who love art. She plans to donate some of the proceeds and also will be accepting donations, to give to local public schools to buy art supplies.

“I’m trying to raise awareness of the artistic talent in the area, and also expose children and adults to possible careers or hobbies in the different art areas,” Jensen said.

“This town is a gem to me. I hope to spend all my days here, so I’m going to do whatever it takes to help make it a nice environment for my two children, family and friends.”

Taste of the Mountains Main Street Festival will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is easily accessed off U.S. 29 North. There is no admission, and free parking is available at the high school and fairgrounds with shuttle bus service.

For more information, call the Madison Chamber of Commerce at (540) 948-4455 or visit the Web site http://www.madison-va.com.

details

Taste of the Mountains Main Street Festival

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday

Downtown Madison

Free shuttle bus service from Madison County High School

http://www.madison-va.com

(540) 948-4455