Festival on the Square returns July 12 with vendors, food, fun

BY KADIE TAYLOR

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

LANETT — The Valley Local’s Festival on the Square is returning to Lanett on July 12 with vendors from permanent jewelry and herbals to cookies and wings. 

“We partner with the city of Lanett to host this event,” The Valley Local Director Sara Crutchfield said. “The street is lined with food trucks and vendors, and we have a good number of vendors who will be there. We also have sponsors for this event this year who've helped make it possible, because we do try to purchase as many items as we can for the bingo, in addition to local businesses donating prizes.”

Crutchfield said attendees can enjoy playing bingo in the Jane Farrar Event Center, and the event will be held from 3 to 6:30 p.m. ET and is free to attend. There will be live music by Jack Stearns at the event under the pavilion so locals can bring a lawn chair.

“Bingo is pay to play, as this is the fundraising part of the event for us to be able to raise money to be able to get back to our community by making donations to  other organizations in need or schools, sports and other things,” she said. “So you can find out more information about that at www.thevalleylocal.org. Just come out; these vendors and food trucks spend many hours getting everything together for this event. They are very small businesses that are putting a lot of time and effort and money into growing their business, and so come out and support them.”

For those looking for a way to spend time together this summer, Crutchfield said the Festival on the Square offers a space for families and friends to convene and enjoy summer shade. 

“With any event, it brings people to a general area, and in that it not only do events grow community by having just people there together meeting and greeting, talking with one another,” she said. “It also brings people to an area who may need gas on the way, so they're stopping by that local gas station to get gas, which also puts money back into our right back into our tax dollars and all right into Chambers County. In addition to just bringing people to see the area, the city of Lanett has a beautiful area shade. They set out tables and chairs for people to enjoy the food outside while listening to the music.”

Crutchfield said the Festival on the Square not only offers a space for community members to interact but for Chambers County to grow and unify. 

“What truly builds community is just being together and interacting with the people that you live near, and you may not know,” she said. “Then you get to an event, you introduce yourselves, you network with one another and then you get to know one another. It's good for the children, especially during the summer, just to get out and have something to do and see other children.”