Fieldale Heritage Festival Named in "Top 20"

Martinsville, VA (October 28, 2011) - The Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation's Tourism Division in partnership with the Fieldale Heritage Festival Committee is pleased to announce that the Fieldale Heritage Festival, an annual event held the third Saturday in May has been voted by the Southeast Tourism Society as one of the "Top 20 Festivals in the Southeast" for the Month of May 2012.

Each month various events from across the region are chosen by the Southeast Tourism Society to be featured as the Top 20 Events and Attractions in the Southeast. The list of winning events is sent to over 1,600 media outlets around the country and will be listed on SoutheastTourism.org and EscapeToTheSoutheast.com.

The EDC's Tourism Division and members of the Festival Committee began discussing the possibility of applying for the award in 2010 and after seeing the success of the 2011 event decided that it was time to apply. They worked collaboratively to submit a nomination for the 7th Annual event in early fall compiling photographs, promotional materials and media coverage to submit from the past years since the inception of the festival.

According to Jennifer Doss, Director of Tourism, "The Fieldale Heritage Festival is a wonderful event that celebrates the heritage and interesting story of rural life in this southern Virginia mill town. By winning this prestigious title of being a Top 20 Event we expect that the 2012 festival will draw additional attendance as the event receives publicity from around the region and becomes more widely known."

The Committee already has an exciting line-up of events planned for the 2012 festival that will include music, food, historic exhibits, children's activities and crafters. According to Beatrice Bullard, Festival Co-Chair, "The Fieldale Heritage Festival Committee is actively planning some special new additions which will add to and enhance the festival this coming year."

Festival Co-Chair, Alice-Anne Gwynn, stated that "We are so happy to have worked with the EDC on this nomination. The Committee's budget for the festival advertising is limited and the additional marketing that this award provides will help the Fieldale Heritage Festival continue to grow."

The 2012 Fieldale Heritage Festival will be held on Saturday, May 19th beginning at 7 a.m. with the event's traditional pancake breakfast and ending at 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Any groups wishing to promote their upcoming events on the Martinsville-Henry County Tourism Website, VisitMartinsville.com, may do so free by contacting the EDC's Tourism Division at 276.403.5940.

The mission of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation is to create new job opportunities and expand the tax base for the area. The organization strives to support and develop local industry, as well as market Martinsville-Henry County globally as an exceptional place to live, work and play.

The EDC is a public-private partnership between the City of Martinsville, Henry County, the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce, the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber's Partnership for Economic Growth (C-PEG) and the Harvest Foundation of the Piedmont.