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Tom Joyce/The News
Members of The Willis Gap Jammers perform during Saturday’s first Heritage and Music Jamboree at Ararat, Va.
A former big-city resident who now lives in rural Meadows of Dan in Patrick County, Augustine was a study in concentration as she stood on a hillside at Dan River Park and gazed intently at the baseball field below.
Suddenly, she laughed — not at an outfielder dropping a fly ball or a player slipping on wet grass — but the action taking place during cow patty bingo competition that was one of the highlights of Saturday’s festival.
“How many people do you know who will stand around waiting for a cow to poop?” Augustine said of the game’s object in which contestants buy numbers, $50 apiece in Saturday’s case, and then hope a bovine “hits” their spot.
“I don’t have any money in it — I’m just curious,” explained Augustine, a former resident of Richmond who said she was witnessing her first cow patty bingo competition that was taking place in a tiny corner of the ballfield.
“I wish I had put my 50 dollars in when I saw how small the area was,” she joked.
Cow patty bingo wasn’t the only attraction at the Ararat Heritage and Music Jamboree, a daylong event aimed at highlighting the farming and cultural traditions of western Patrick County.
It kicked off with a parade and ended with fireworks, with performances by seven different musical groups, antique cars, horseshoes and other games, historical and carnival attractions, food and sales of plants and crafts included in between.
In an era when nearly every community in the area seemingly holds at least one festival or similar gathering during the year, Saturday’s inaugural Heritage and Music Jamboree represented Ararat’s entry into the event circuit.
“We just kind of had a dream of having a festival in Ararat, because everything happens in Stuart or Woolwine,” Cindy Hoback said of her community’s interest in promoting what it has to offer along with other areas of Patrick. Hoback, one of about a dozen planning committee members who helped launch the jamboree, operates Wolf Creek Farm, a bed-and-breakfast establishment on Gid Collins Lane, with her husband Gary.
Hoback and other organizers termed the first-time gathering a success, although it had to compete with showers part of the time.
“I think it turned out better than we thought it would, even with the rain,” Hoback said. “We still had a really good time.”
“I think it was great,” agreed Janet Epperson, a leader in efforts to develop recreational facilities at Dan River Park on Raven Rock Road who also helped stage Saturday’s festival there.
Around 9 a.m., the History/Heritage/Agricultural Parade through the Ararat community began at the Ruritan building and ended at Dan River Park, including antique farm and other vehicles along with floats.
Bluegrass, country, old-time and gospel music was performed from a shelter at the park, with dancers taking advantage of a platform set up there. Meanwhile, kids played at a bouncehouse as adults caught up on the latest community news with each other.
Some 30 vendors offering products ranging from dish gardens to homemade ice cream and jellies and jams set up shop on the grounds, which also hosted an antique cruise-in that conformed to the heritage theme.
Ararat history further was highlighted with an appearance by local author Tom Perry, who brought copies of his latest book, “Ararat, Virginia: A Guide From Willis Gap to Kibler Valley.” It features the businesses, history and attractions of western Patrick County.
The community’s favorite son, J.E.B. Stuart — or at least a man who looked a lot like him — was part of the festival as well. Wayne Jones of Aiken, S.C., billed as the best interpreter in the nation of Stuart, made the Confederate general seem alive once more.
Saturday’s jamboree sought to offer a slice of every notable aspect of Ararat life, and all facets of the community joined to put on the event.
As people enjoyed themselves and looked forward to an evening fireworks display sponsored by Aerial Machine and Tool Corp., Epperson smiled while making her way to the ballfield to monitor the cow patty bingo that offered a $200 first prize.
“It was everything I hoped it would be,” she said of the Heritage and Music Jamboree.
Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.
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