Fall Festival celebrates harvest season

Thursday, Sept. 29, 2005

With the crisp autumn breeze, color-changing trees and pumpkins popping up on porches, fall will soon hit Mount Airy.

For residents, that means it’s time for the annual Fall Festival, a celebration of the harvest season.

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, stop by Main Street for entertainment, food, crafts, demonstrations, kids’ activities and more.

The annual event brings crafters from all over the area as well as craft-enthusiasts looking for something special for their homes or early holiday shopping.

Kids can enjoy making scarecrows or playing games while parents shop the sites. And people of all ages can enjoy the spread of food, entertainment and demonstrations.

Stop by and see what’s new on Main Street, most notably Retro-Metro which opened two weeks ago, but co-owner Sherri Johnson plans on having her grand opening in October.

Run by Sherri and her husband Doug Johnson, Retro-Metro is a sassy but classy home décor treat and features accessories, furniture, toys and gifts for all ages.

Retro-Metro is located in the newly renovated 118 S. Main St. For information, stop by or call 301-831-0310, or visit her Web site at www.retro-metro.com.

Main Street also offers a couple more business changes. Simon Place has changed owners and names, as Amy Dusza of Monrovia opened her own shop, Amy’s Attic. Her shop features favorites from the antique and collectible shop, but is run under her store’s name.

Amy’s Attic will relocate from 102 S. Main St. to Inspiration Point’s old location, 204 S. Main St., in the next couple weeks.

Inspiration Point moved up the street to an expanded location in the newly renovated 116 S. Main St. Stop by to see owner Julie Kennedy’s expanded furniture and home accessories line, or see how Judi Robinson, interior decorator, can liven up home décor.

Grab lunch or dinner at the Old Towne Restaurant, and grab a coffee or tea treat from the Vintage Coffee House, run by Michelle Caballero, of Mount Airy.

Plenty of talent will hit the streets to provide entertainment and demonstrations during the festival.

Don’t forget to stop by Déjà Vu for a fall fashion show, highlighting the best of fall and winter trends, as well as homecoming dresses. Déjà Vu owner Joanne Sapp said she is working with Jim and Debbie King, owners of Miracles hair salon, and a number of hair stylists from their shop will create the hairdos for the models.

The show will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday

Favorites, such as Steve Flynn of Mount Airy, who performs Frank Sinatra-style songs, the Caballero band, and Michael Cavalier, both country-style bands, are must-see musical talents for the weekend.

The Skyview Gymdancers will hit the stage on Saturday. The 25-member dance team from Skyview Gymnastics will show off their skills in a combination of demonstration and performance.

New to Mount Airy (the business just relocated last summer), the Skyview team, comprised of students ages 7-17, is no stranger to Mount Airy’s Fall Festivals. The group has been showing their stuff for five or six years.

‘‘I think the girls enjoy doing it,” said Rob Floyd, whose wife Diane runs the shop. Floyd said he retired from his job a couple years ago to help out his wife’s booming business.

The show is comprised of tumbling exercises and choreography, all set to music and featuring costumes.

Diane Floyd brings a dance background to her business, and believes that one of the most valuable lessons for kids to learn is how to perform, how to manage the excitement and do the best they can do.

The dance team isn’t alone at the festival. Rob Floyd said a number of parents volunteer their time to help out.

Choe’s Hapkido will also offer up a demonstration of their karate accomplishments on Saturday.

Jazz is in the air this weekend as one band each day hit the stage to belt out their beats.

Sunday features the King Teddy Jazz Band, a 1940s swing style band with a unique musical flavor.

The band is comprised of Mike Sottong, lead vocals and piano; Dan Rivizzigno, guitar and vocals; John Rowny, drums and vocals; Rob Perl, stand up bass; and Jerry Queene, tenor saxophone. The band has played at a number of other festivals in the past couple years, all over Maryland and Virginia, including the Columbia Lakefront Concert Series.

‘‘It’s fun, upbeat and makes people want to dance,” wrote member John Rowny in an e-mail. ‘‘I guarantee we’ll have folks dancing in the street.”

Rowny describes the band as ‘‘at the intersection of swing, rockabilly, and jump blues.”

For information, visit mp3.washingtonpost.com⁄bands⁄king_teddy.shtml.

The South Carroll High School Jazz Band, led by Allan Kirkpatrick, will take up Center Stage (at Center and Main Streets) at 10 a.m. on Saturday for a performance as well.

The annual Mount Airy Area Jaycees baby photo contest is going on now. Send in the cutest baby pictures with a $2 submission fee with each photo to the Mount Airy Area Jaycees, P. O. Box 82, Mount Airy, MD 21771. Prizes will be awarded during the Fall Festival. For more information, call Barbara Keith at 301-829-6892.