Kiwanis Club of Abingdon
Sponsors

Abingdon Plumb Alley Day

May 24, 2008

          Some 10,000 residents and visitors are expected on Abingdon’s Plumb Alley on Saturday, May 24, 2008 when the Kiwanis Club holds its 26^th Annual Plumb Alley Day.  The festival, rated one of the largest one-day events in the Southeast, runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

            In the heart of the town’s historic district, Plumb Alley is the shaded picturesque alley that runs between Main and Valley Streets.  The Day features yard sales, food, music, a dance performance, children’s activities, and a massive yard sale sponsored by the Kiwanis Club.  In addition, more than 175 vendors will sell pottery, art, photographs, crafts, jewelry, antiques, and innumerable other items. 

To find if vendor space is still available, call Jean Neal at (276) 614-0875.  Vendors are strongly encouraged to set up their booths on Friday night after 5 p.m., and then enjoy one of Abingdon’s many fine restaurants. 

            The Day begins with a salute to veterans and the raising of the American flag at 9:00 a.m.  During the Day, entertainment includes a strolling magician and a performance by the Xtreme Dance Company.  The WXBQ Rabbit will stroll the Alley and entertain children between 10 a.m. and Noon. 

At 10 a.m., a sidewalk art contest for children begins in the parking lot opposite the Sinking Spring Presbyterian Church.  Children will compete in three different age categories. Also at 10 a.m. the Appalachian Highlanders Pipes and Drums will pipe their way down the Alley. 

            The festival is confined to Plumb Alley between Cummings Street and Court Street.  People should park on Main or Valley Streets, or in one of the Town’s several parking lots. 

The Alley’s three cross streets, Pecan, Church and College Streets, will be closed to public vehicle traffic at 8:00 a.m., with barricades at the Valley and Main Street ends.  Vendors with identification will be able to use those streets to unload their vehicles, but only until 8:30 a.m.  The purpose of the change is to make the four-block Alley a pedestrian-only mall where people can wander safely and comfortably.

            “The purpose of the Day is to generate funds to support numerous organizations that promote the health, education and welfare of children,” said Plumb Alley chairperson Carl Clarke.  “All of the proceeds from booth rents, our big yard sale, and the $1 donation we ask of those who attend, are donated back to programs in Abingdon and Washington County.”

            The Day has four corporate sponsors:  Empire Ford-Lincoln-Mercury, First Bank and Trust Co., Food Country USA, and WABN 1230 AM Radio.  WABN will begin a live remote broadcast from the Alley at 9:00 a.m.                                                           

            The Kiwanis Club of Abingdon supports the Washington County Public Library summer reading program, the Children’s Advocacy Center; the Imagination Library, the Second Harvest Food Bank, the Appalachian Council Girl Scouts and the Sequoyah Council, Boy Scouts of America, the William King Regional Arts Center outreach program, the Virginia Highlands Festival, and the Abingdon Girls’ Basketball Association, among others.

            Kiwanis International is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time, with 600,000 members in more than 90 countries.