This year was the 25th annual MerleFest festival in Wilkesboro, NC. It is a festival dedicated to the memory of Merle Watson, son of Doc Watson, they are both very well known bluegrass musicians. The festival is a lot of fun for kids, it is very family oriented. They offer many activities for kids that are free including: craft tents, face painting, a finger painting wall, climbing wall, playground, etc…
Lilah even had fun contributing to the music at the festival with the kazoo she made a few weeks ago when we toured the Kazoobie kazoo factory in Beaufort, SC. Click Here to see the post about the kazoo factory.
My brother in law has been selling hand turned ink pens in the Heritage Crafts tent for several years now. Millermark Pens are some of the best writing instruments you will find anywhere, he takes time to make sure every pen he makes is as close to perfect as it can be for a hand crafted item.
The girls enjoyed the climbing wall, Laini was excited that she happened to be big enough to climb it. The wall is operated by the National Guard, they did a good job but I was disappointed when I found out the caribeaners they were giving away with “National Guard” screen printed on the side also had a large “Made in China” on them as well… The girls liked getting to sit in the Hummer too…
One of the coolest things at MerleFest is the yearly sand sculpture. This year it was the Beverly Hillbillies on their truck with a nearly empty rocking chair on the top. The rocking chair had a banjo that was dedicated to the life of Earl Scruggs on it. On the back of the truck was a the MerleFest mascot raccoon. It is amazing the detail they can get into these sand sculptures, it was almost finished when we stopped to take pictures.
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