16th Annual Southland Jubilee receives record-breaking amount of vendor applications, bringing the most unique vendors to historic downtown Greensboro on April 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Since its beginning in 1998, Southland Jubilee has been downtown Greensboro's premier event, which has developed a reputation across the region as a quality heritage arts festival packed with arts and crafts, classic car show, food and children’s activities. Southland Jubilee is excited to welcome many new and returning vendors to this year’s festival.

“The festival has never sold out like this before,” said Kendrick Harris, Southland Jubilee Chair. “We received double the amount of applications than we have in the past and I’m excited to announce that the vendor spaces are completely full. New this year, there will be arts and craft vendors in Festival Hall.”

At this year’s festival, Southland Jubilee is pleased to present a wide array of vendors where visitors can roam up and down North and South Main Street and find handmade fashion and freshwater cultured pearl jewelry, hand built and wheel thrown ceramic pottery, candles from recycled wine bottles made with all natural soy wax, stylish pet accessories for your favorite hound and feline, monogrammed gifts and accessories, homemade soaps and bees wax lip balm, demonstrations of crocheted headwear and accessories, a plant sale grown by Greene County High School plant science students, sample homemade pepper and mustard sauces, handcrafted authentic English toffee, red velvet funnel cakes, fried Oreos, snow creams, frozen drinks, smoked barbeque and even adopt a furry friend from the local animal shelters and humane societies.

Vendors will line North and South Main Streets and Festival Hall will also house several vendors and a Native American performance throughout the day.

In addition to the handmade arts and craft vendors, the younger attendees will be delighted with the Children’s Area. The area will include a rock-climbing wall, spider jump, bounce houses and crafts of sand art and face painting.

Whether it is the live performances, arts and crafts, classic cars, heritage demonstrations, children's activities, your favorite festival foods or agricultural and antique tractor exhibits, attendees will find old favorites and should expect a few new surprises at this award winning festival.

For more information about Southland Jubilee, please visit www.southlandjubilee.com.

About Southland Jubilee

Southland Jubilee is a day-long heritage arts festival that takes place in the heart of historic downtown Greensboro. Southland Jubilee is produced by the Greensboro Better Hometown Program and the Greensboro Downtown Development Authority with support from the City of Greensboro. Since its beginning in 1998, this annual spring festival has been downtown Greensboro’s main community event and has developed the reputation across the region as a quality heritage arts and family festival. The festival’s goal is to attract people to the town with the hope that they will return to the community and future events.  

Tuesday, March 25, thirty-one ladies and gentlemen visited Greensboro for a unique Step on Tour of the Historic Downtown area.

 A traveling group from Conyers, Georgia were curious to learn more about downtown Greensboro and some of its historical homes. Beginning at 11am, the group were welcomed by the staff at The Yesterday Café. They enjoyed a delicious southern lunch complemented by their famous Buttermilk pie.

After lunch, the group headed to Festival Hall to hear a bit of history from the local historian Joel McRay. He spoke to the group about the Creek Indian and how Greene County was founded. Then he told interesting and funny stories about a few of the historic buildings in Downtown.

After Joel’s wonderful story telling, tour guide, Tommi Ward, told the group the history of Festival Hall and how it was once a gym that held “Womenless Weddings” and “Donkey Basketball” games to now becoming a beautiful preforming arts center.

From the gym to the jail, the tour group stepped back in time to peek inside the “Old Gaol.” The group enjoyed seeing where the old hanging noose, and all commented on how it might have been chilly to stay the night in the stone structure.

After the cold walk trough the jail, the group loaded the First Baptist Bus from Conyers and started the driving tour of the local historic homes.

The bus traveled around the town, slowing enough for Tommi to tell a funny story or historic fact about the home. These homes included, “Recess” a home once owned by a teacher, “Paradise Hill” which the entire block was made up of beautiful gardens that accompanied the house, “Goodwin Manor” which was relocated to town by ox carts and a second story was built with rooms for each of the four daughters, and the last stop was the Lewis Cottage, where Miles Walker Lewis was raised.

The group left Greensboro full of good food , full of good stories, and full of facts about the history.

Southland Jubilee delivers exceptional vendors and their one-of-a-kind, handmade treasures to downtown Greensboro on Saturday, April 19.

Each year, you can expect to find unique vendors that will line Main Street with handmade arts and crafts as well as your favorite festival snacks. Over 8,000 festival attendees shop for one-of-a-kind treasures that can only be found at Southland Jubilee. Past vendors have included handcrafted pottery, jewelry, baskets, soaps, candles, glassware, textiles, paintings, woodcrafts, heritage demonstrators and many more. 

Among the many arts and craft vendors that will proceed down Main Street, visitors will be able to find treasures ranging from original paintings to three dimensional metal fabrications. 

Painter Eugene Swain has participated in the festival for the past 14 years. At his booth, one will find paintings of landscapes, scenery and more. There is no limit to what he can do. 

“My paintings are of things that you typically wouldn’t see nowadays,” said Eugene Swain, painter and Southland Jubilee vendor. “I keep coming back every year because people can relate to and appreciate the subjects and what’s going on in my paintings. It’s like bringing yesterday’s memories back to life.”

Some of Swain’s paintings have included an old washing machine with clothes hanging on a heater to dry and people sitting outside of an aged country store. He will be selling roughly 30 paintings at this year’s festival which are always a hit with festival shoppers. 

Southland Jubilee prides itself on delivering the best and most exclusive vendors to downtown Greensboro each year. As the festival continuously grows, it has developed the reputation across the region as a quality heritage arts and family festival. Southland Jubilee offers something for everyone and is fun for the whole family. 

For more information regarding the festival, please visit www.southlandjubilee.com. 

About Southland Jubilee

Southland Jubilee is a day-long heritage arts festival that takes place in the heart of historic downtown Greensboro. Southland Jubilee is produced by the Greensboro Better Hometown Program and the Greensboro Downtown Development Authority with support from the City of Greensboro. Since its beginning in 1998, this annual spring festival has been downtown Greensboro’s main community event and has developed the reputation across the region as a quality heritage arts and family festival. The festival’s goal is to attract people to the town with the hope that they will return to the community and future events.  

Agriculture area brings some of the farm-life to downtown Greensboro during the 16th Annual Southland Jubilee on Saturday, April 19.

Among the venders, children’s activities, classic car show and live entertainment, visitors will also be able to find an agriculture area at this year’s festival. 

Agricultural exhibits will allow guests to hold a small baby chick, ride a pony, visit the petting zoo and see other local animals. Georgia Farm Bureau and 4-H will also be sponsoring a healthy plate exhibit where they will provide information about Farm Bureau’s healthy plate campaign for the state of Georgia this year.

To celebrate the 16th Annual Southland Jubilee, visitors can expect to find unique vendors that will line Main Street with handmade art and crafts and your favorite festival snacks of funnel cakes and cotton candy. The car show will feature numerous classic, hot rod and other special interest cars and trucks stretching over four blocks long. Agriculture and wildlife awareness exhibits will also take up residence on Main Street with live farm animals.

This festival is unlike any of its kind. With 8,000 people anticipated and Southland Jubilee continuing to grow each year, it has developed the reputation across the region as a quality heritage arts and family festival. Southland Jubilee offers something for everyone and is fun for the whole family.

For more information regarding the festival, please visit www.southlandjubilee.com.

About Southland Jubilee

Southland Jubilee is a day-long heritage arts festival that takes place in the heart of historic downtown Greensboro. Southland Jubilee is produced by the Greensboro Better Hometown Program and the Greensboro Downtown Development Authority with support from the City of Greensboro. Since its beginning in 1998, this annual spring festival has been downtown Greensboro’s main community event and has developed the reputation across the region as a quality heritage arts and family festival. The festival’s goal is to attract people to the town with the hope that they will return to the community and future events.  

Potential vendors have until March 14 to submit their vendor application for the 16th Annual Southland Jubilee on Saturday, April 19.

From 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., visitors from near and far will parade the streets of downtown Greensboro to participate in an array of family-friendly festivities including vendors with handmade arts and crafts, children’s activities, agriculture and wildlife awareness exhibits, a classic car show, live entertainment from local performers and your favorite festival foods.

The festival prides itself on delivering the best and most exclusive vendors to downtown Greensboro each year and the final application deadline is quickly approaching. All vendors must submit an application with pictures of their booth set-up or a menu to be considered.

Each year, you can expect to find unique vendors that will line Main Street with handmade art and crafts and your favorite festival snacks. Over 8,000 festival-goers shop for one-of-a-kind treasures that can only be found at Southland Jubilee. Past vendors have included handcrafted jewelry makers, candle makers, heritage demonstrators and many more.

Southland Jubilee encourages handmade arts and crafts, food, children’s activities, heritage demonstrators and local nonprofit vendors to apply to be a part of Greensboro’s biggest event of the year. Chosen vendors are exposed to thousands of people from across the state. 

The final deadline for vendor applications is March 14. All applications submitted by the deadline will be reviewed and accepted vendors will be notified. There are a limited number of vendors that will be invited to participate so be sure to get your application in early.

Vendor applications can be found by visiting www.southlandjubilee.com/vendors.

For more information regarding the festival, please visit www.southlandjubilee.com.

About Southland Jubilee

Southland Jubilee is a day-long heritage arts festival that takes place in the heart of historic downtown Greensboro. Southland Jubilee is produced by the Greensboro Better Hometown Program and the Greensboro Downtown Development Authority with support from the City of Greensboro. Since its beginning in 1998, this annual spring festival has been downtown Greensboro’s main community event and has developed the reputation across the region as a quality heritage arts and family festival. The festival’s goal is to attract people to the town with the hope that they will return to the community and future events.

What happens when you combine cardboard, fried foods, country music and a month-long event celebrating history?  You have four of the best festivals in the Southeast. They, along with fifteen other events, were spotlighted at the Southeast Festivals and Events Kaleidoscope Awards, sponsored by RCS Productions, at the Hilton Savannah DeSoto in Savannah, Georgia on February 18. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the 11th Annual Southeast Festivals and Events (SFEA) Conference, presented by East Coast Pyrotechnics. 

The name “kaleidoscope” was selected due to the colors in the image that represent the many different elements and facets within festivals and events. The kaleidoscope awards showcase the best of the best. Categories include best sponsor, best T-shirts, best digital media, best poster, best event within an event and many others. Out of the many categories, Southland Jubilee applied for four different categories and was awarded two. The Southland Jubilee won bronze for Best Festival with a budget under $75,000 and Mary Helen Higdon Brewer was awarded silver for Best Volunteer for the festival.

“This was the year of recognizing a community effort,” noted Wendy Thomas, executive director for SFEA. “The award for ‘Best Festival’ is given to two organizations, based on budget criteria, and both of the festivals recognized this year are planned by folks within their own community, versus an out-of-state show promoter. The Southeast takes great pride in its events as well as its traditions.”

Applying for Best Festival is no easy task. The best festival category showcases the overall aspect of the event. The judges looked at sponsors, budget, posters, merchandise, volunteers and the overall layout of the event.

“I am excited that we can showcase the Southland Jubilee to peers all over the Southeast,” stated Kendrick Harris, Southland Jubilee Chair. “It is a great honor for our festival to be awarded on the first time applying.”

The categories in which one can win recognition are also diverse, ranging from Best Social Media Campaign to Best Creative Idea to Best Volunteer. The Best Volunteer category showcases the best volunteer from your community for your event. Out of the many volunteers, Mary Helen Brewer placed silver. Over the past 10 years, Brewer has served as a dedicated volunteer for Southland Jubilee. She is always there the night before to help set up and then is back on South Main Street at 6 a.m. to help check in vendors.

“I am happy that we can reward our volunteers for the hard work and dedication they put into the festival,” noted Harris. “Without the countless volunteers, we would not be able to create such a wonderful community event.”

The 16th Annual Southland Jubilee is scheduled for Saturday, April 19, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Save the date because you will not want to miss this award winning festival.

“I love that we can brag that Southland Jubilee is an award winning festival,” stated Harris. “We would not be able to brag without the support from the community, sponsors and volunteers. Our festival is for the community and would not be the best without you.