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(I tried sending this over a week ago, but I never saw it appear in the digest.
So I'm giving it another whirl.)
I just wanted to give my report on our Mayberry Days experience this year.
Things have been quite hectic both at work and home, so forgive the week's
delay. I know a lot of people did not make it this year due to the pandemic
who otherwise would have gone, but we made our lodging reservations, bought
show tickets, and arranged for time off from work before the virus became a
thing, so we decided to go ahead as planned. We were only able to be in town
Friday and Saturday, as it takes a full day of driving for us to get there and
another to return home.
Friday's weather was poor -- cool and rainy off and on. But jackets and
umbrellas gave us some protection. We attended the Mayor's Proclamation, where
the lack of guest stars was evident. Then we did some shopping on Main Street
for Mayberry items (got a TAGS 60th anniversary mug with all 249 episodes
listed on it and a similar T-shirt, among other things). We also picked up our
"Mayberry Man" merchandise. Ray and I had lunch at The Loaded Goat, which was
the first time we had eaten together in a sit-down restaurant since the
lockdown in March. We wore our masks until our food arrived (which was
delicious!). We had bought tickets for LeRoy McNees's show, but it was
cancelled. We took a squad car tour in the afternoon, a first for us. We had
always wanted to do it, but there are usually so many people wanting rides that
it's hard to get in. We figured the light attendance on Friday was a good
opportunity, despite the dismal weather. Larry was our driver and was very
friendly and entertaining. We stopped in at Opie's Candy Store afterwards and
had ice cream. If you are a chocolate fan, go there and get the Smoky Mountain
Fudge. It's wonderful! Of course, we couldn't miss the World Championship
Trivia contest. I think this was the third time I've participated. The
questions this year in the qualifying round were pretty hard! Many of them
asked for names of unseen people mentioned only once in passing. Those don't
normally stick in your brain, and I didn't do any preparation at all for the
contest. Anyway, I got six right and came in fourth behind Jeff Gossett.
Forget who the top two were. Maybe someone can remind me. They were the only
ones who were allowed into the final round. I didn't think about it until
afterward, but we had no group photo for the WBMUTBB? chapter as we normally
do, but I'm assuming this was because of the need for social distancing. In
the evening, we attended a show by Tim White and Troublesome Hollow (formerly
the VW Boys). We enjoyed the bluegrass music. After the show, Ray bought two
of their CD's and they threw in a free "Eat More Possum" bumper sticker. I
don't know if Ray will be brave enough to put it on his van!
The biggest disappointment was the cancellation of the parade on Saturday
morning, so we lounged around and didn't come into the heart of town until
lunch time. It was a beautiful day, in much contrast to Friday. In fact, it
was the most pleasant weather we've ever experienced at Mayberry Days -- sunny
but not hot and humid. I figured attendance would still be sparse due to the
parade being cancelled, but we were surprised at the large number of people
strolling Main Street. I'm sure the merchants were pleased! Due to Covid 19
restrictions, Prof. Brower's Lecture was divided into two shows, and we were
assigned to the 3:00 show. We got seats front and center. Unfortunately,
because no guest stars were present, Neal Brower didn't have anyone to
interview, as is his custom, so he talked instead about how he came to be a
TAGS fan, write a well-regarded book about the show (Mayberry 101), and teach a
community college course on TAGS for many years. He discussed how he came into
contact with various people connected with the show and described some of his
experiences with them. It was really quite interesting. After the lecture, we
headed to the amphitheater for the annual meeting of TAGSRWC. On our way, we
stopped and purchased our official Mayberry Days shirts from the Surry Arts
Council. Since Jim Clark was absent this year, Allen ran the program. Chapter
reports were given, and some awards were handed out. Eric Lowry (Mayor Pike)
won the Mayberry Friendship Award, and Dewey Lamb won the Jim Schwenke Memorial
Award. Both were well deserved. After we grabbed a bite to eat, Ray wanted to
go back to Opie's for more ice cream. I really was not hungry, but I made the
sacrifice for his sake and had some more Smoky Mountain Fudge. That evening,
we attended the revamped version of Col. Tim's Talent Time, which was held at
the Earle Theatre instead of The Andy Griffith Playhouse. Since there were no
guest stars to participate, the tribute artists took up the slack, and Michael
Hoover (Elvis) had a bigger part of the show. It was all very enjoyable. My
only quibble is that the last part of the show, where Michael performed, was
all done on the floor instead of on the stage. The stage at the Earle has
steep steps and apparently has no backstage access, so I figured this is why
Michael chose to stay on the floor. However, it made it harder to see him and
the others, and I imagine some people sitting farther back had even less of a
view than we did. Hopefully, Col. Tim's can return to the playhouse next year
so that this is not an issue.
It's true that this year's Mayberry Days was sorely lacking in some ways -- the
guest stars and parade were greatly missed -- but Mayberry Days is less about
spectacle and more about people. The tribute artists really stepped up to the
plate and helped all of us enjoy the weekend. We saw old friends and made new
ones. Ray and I are glad we went. Thanks to all who made it a special and fun
time!
Thelma Lou
(Janet)
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