The Shadow
CLIFTON FORGE Va. (VR) – Young and aged alike came out in droves this past weekend to enjoy a tradition that has gone on for 53 years. Of course, we are talking about everybody’s favorite downtown Clifton Forge event. The annual Shriner’s Fall Festival was held on Oct. 18, 19, and 20.
For those not familiar with this iconic celebration, the town shuts down one lane of Main Street and allows several types of vendors and artists to set up and sell all kinds of different treats and merchandise. From jewelry to pounds of hamburger, lamb, and pork you can truly find about anything you may desire.
This year was no different and it surely did not disappoint. There were vendors from several different states, and festival goers were treated to many new things like a customizable flag stand where patrons could purchase many different custom flags and banners. There was even a group with three or four bouncy houses set up for the kids to enjoy, but all the fun was not just buying new things and letting the kids have fun.
There were many things to enjoy which have been making the festival great for many years. Things like the Shriners’ famous cake batter donuts keep the faithful stopping year after year. The donuts are delicious, but the Shriners making and selling the donuts are all great people who are happy to strike up a conversation and have a laugh or two with you. Besides that, the best reason to stop by and have a donut is the fact that all the proceeds of the event go to supporting the 22 Shriners hospitals for children. These amazing hospitals located in the United States, Canada, and Mexico supply state-of-the-art care for children year-round without any cost to the patient’s family.
They have a yearly budget of around $600 million and depend on great people like the Clifton Forge Shriners to supply that money, so if you are ever able the Shriners are an excellent group to support. All the weekend’s fun did not happen downtown; there were also numerous yard sales throughout Clifton Forge and an extremely popular fall festival gospel sing which was held on Saturday evening in the Historic Masonic Theater.
