Threat of showers can’t dampen festivities

A rainy forecast may have had event organizers worried, but even cloudy skies couldn’t keep fans away from this year’s Jonesborough Days festival.
“It was great,” said Main Street Director Melinda Copp. “In the end, it turned out better than we thought it would.”
Doubts had surfaced, Copp admitted, as she watched the weather forecast for the festival, which was held July 2-4.
“Rain had been forecast for the week before, and it hadn’t rained at all, so I wasn’t really worried,” she said. “But by Wednesday, I realized it was probably going to rain Thursday. And it did, all day, and while we were setting up the Low Country dinner.”
But then, the sun came out.
“It didn’t rain when we needed it dry,” Copp said, summing up the weekend. “And it stayed dry for the fireworks and the parade and the dinner.”
Copp estimates about 20,000 to 25,000 in attendance this year, down from about 30,000 in 2014.
Still, factoring in the wet weather, she sees that as a win. “We still had great attendance,” she said.
Copp was also pleased with the direction Jonesborough Days has taken.
“About three years ago, we really looked at what was working well and what the community enjoyed,” she said. “We focused on those aspects of the festival.”
It seems to have paid off. From the fireworks, which Copp said showcased well this year, to the food competitions and the festive Fouth of July Parade, crowds appeared to have fun. And that, according to Copp, made for a fabulous festival.