Like many rural communities all over the world, we have festivals and events which help to uniquely identify our background and interests. The Gloucester Daffodil Festival, Mathews Market Days and the Urbanna Oyster Festival arguably are the most prominent on the Middle Peninsula of Virginia and Northern Neck. But many others are happening such as southern Gloucester’s Guinea Jubilee and the Gloucester Wine Festival. The Main Street Blues and Brews event, relatively new to the area, is becoming immensely popular.
Major Festival Events
Mathews Market Days started yesterday, September 9, 2016 and continues through today. It includes art and craft exhibitors from Mathews and beyond, a Show N’ Shine car show , food vendors, home goods competition, a Youth Corner, a pet parade, a youth spelling bee, and musical entertainment.
The Urbanna Oyster Festival is on November 4-5, 2016. It is a celebration of the seafood industry in the area and has a fun-filled parade. Some unusual events include a pirate encampment, black powder weapons demonstration and an oyster shucking contest. Pony rides, a rock climbing wall, wine and craft beer tasting are on the schedule. The typical street sales, children’s rides, games, arts & crafts, entertainment stages and lots of good food are there.
The Gloucester Daffodil Festival will be held on April 1-2, 2017 in the downtown ‘courthouse area’ and at Brent and Becky’s Bulbs just outside of the main ‘village’ of Gloucester. It is the oldest and largest of the festivals in the area. It was originally conceived in 1947 to celebrate the daffodil industry. Gloucester was recognized as the daffodil capital of the world. The industry included blooms as well as bulbs, though now it is mainly concentrated on shipping bulbs all over the world. Brent and Becky’s Bulbs develops many hybrids of daffodils and ships them both from their Gloucester gardens and their growers in Holland. And daffodils grow abundantly all over the county, making springtime a beautiful and delightful season. The activities of the Daffodil Festival are so varied and extensive, they are best seen by looking at the website.
Other Festival Events
The Guinea Jubilee will be held on September 23-24, 2016. It is a celebration of the original Gloucester natives from England who settled here in the 17th century, reputedly from a shipwreck on a nearby small island.
The Gloucester Wine Festival is scheduled for October 22, 2016 with wine tasting and music in downtown Gloucester.
The Main Street Blues and Brews is the ‘new kid on the block’. It is set for October 8, 2016. It is held in downtown Gloucester also, and has become extremely popular. It features beer selections and much great music. It deserves special attention and will be covered exclusively in our next blog.