Festival in the Park celebrates its 40th anniversary with a three-day event at Ballou Park beginning 4 p.m. today. This year’s festival again features arts and crafts, a kid zone with carnival rides and activities, and a variety of food and entertainment.
The kid zone or children’s area activities include face painting, arts and crafts, and games and activities. The Danville Braves will have a speed pitch tent. Home Depot, the Master Gardeners and Virginia Cooperative Extension will provide building and gardening activities. Fun Time Rentals will provide carnival rides.
Scheduled entertainment in the kid zone includes the Mountain Bike Stunt Group, Cara Zara the Hula Hoop Entertainer and the North Star Theatre Project.
A variety of food will be available throughout the park, including smoked turkey legs, pork ribs, fried chicken, fried fish, collard greens, southern barbecue, alligator baskets, catfish, shrimp, clam strips, oysters, crab cakes, blooming onions, cheese steaks, sausages, hot dogs, burgers, corn dogs, fries (regular, cheese, chili-cheese and ribbon fries), chicken tenders, nachos, dusted mini-donuts, fried pies, funnel cakes, deep-fried Oreos, popcorn, pretzels, snow cones, candy apples and ice cream.
The weekend’s entertainment at the main stage kicks off at 6 p.m. Friday with the modern country band music of Dirt Road Scholars.
On Saturday, country music singer-songwriter Josh Thompson takes the stage at 7 p.m. The day’s entertainment begins at noon with funk rock music from the Lynchburg band Funky Bone. It continues during the afternoon with country, rock, bluegrass and folk music by L Shape Lot, followed by R&B, soul and pop music by The Legacy Motown Review.
Sunday’s entertainment is dedicated to gospel music, beginning at 1:30 p.m. with the Danville quartet Sammy Terry and the Spiritual Highlights. The quartet will be followed by The Legendary Silver Stars of Blanch, The Swanee Quintet and The Jackson Sisters of Goldsboro, N.C.