Barbara Jean Jones, one of the lead voices on the Montross Fall Festival Committee, revealed that all plans for this year’s event are being made with the 250th anniversary in mind.

“I can’t believe that fifty years have gone by,” Jones commented. “I remember when we celebrated in 1976, and it was a very neat thing. Virginia Sherman had her hoop skirt and everything, and we had a covered wagon caravan that went to and from different places.”

The other thing that Jones remembered was seeing kids baking in the sun, which tends to happen more often than one would think in October. The nature of the weather in the month of October led to a number of ideas being pitched, including the possibility of utilizing a misting tent if the temperature shoots through the roof. Colonial Beach has made great use of misting tents during a number of its summer events.

The big discussion, however, centered on the timing of the parade, which is still regarded as the de facto conclusion of the Fall Festival.

“We’ve grown to the point where we can have some really good entertainment now, and we’d like to figure out a way to start the parade at 3 p.m. instead of 2 p.m.,” stated Jones. “We all know that as soon as the last entry goes through the parade, people are in a rush to get out of town, and it’d be nice if we could allow an extra hour for more entertainment. I don’t know if the Sheriff’s Office will have a problem with that.”

“I doubt they will,” Mayor Joey King chimed in. “And whatever you and the Committee suggest to the Council, we’ll definitely work with.”

Last year, the Fall Festival ran for a grand total of five hours, from commencement at 9 a.m. to the start of the parade at 2 p.m. Mayor King was, on the whole, rather pleased with the report, stating, “I think it’s really good you’re not letting it get stagnant. You’re making some really good changes that help everything.” With Route 3 being one of the primary arteries of the Northern Neck, having it serve as the primary parade street can pose a number of problems.

“A lot of people don’t realize that this Town is situated where you can’t close off the main street. We’ve tried,” Jones commented. “We’ve begged, but you can’t do it, and the other streets are just not set up for us to drive a parade through them. Several other towns have main streets that they can shut down for the whole day, but we don’t have that advantage.

“And I tell you, I think the Town and the people working with it do an awesome job getting everything set up during the day and then putting it all away at the end. It’s great.”