Elizabethtown celebrates 250th anniversary
Bladen county residents and beyond enjoy contests, live music and company for Veteran's Day
ELIZABETHTOWN, N.C. (WWAY) – The 250th Anniversary Homecoming Celebration for Elizabethtown was Saturday. The event, postponed due to a tropical storm, highlighted the past and future of Elizabethtown on Saturday, November 11 from 9AM to 8PM at the Cape Fear Farmers Market.
“This event really is about celebrating Elizabethtown. All the history that is deep here – 250 years is deep,” says Elizabeth Director of Communication and Marketing Terri Dennison. “Just seeing everyone come together is great. It was a great turnout.”
Several groups performed a variety of music spanning the last century during the event, starting with the Decatur Street Beat with their Dixieland music sound from 11AM – 2PM. Bladen County native Brent Underwood started at 3:30pm and the popular beach music and classic rock band, Rivermist, wrapped up the music, performing from 5-8pm.
Crowd participation was encouraged with a variety of old-fashioned contests planned to include corn shucking, hollering, whistling, and a boiled peanut eating contest sponsored by Peanut Patch and the Elizabethtown Rotary. There were two All You Can Eat Hamburger competition, sponsored by Melvin’s, that featured WWAY’s Jake Eichstaedt, who proudly finished tied for third with four burgers. The other competition featured the three high schools in Bladen County – with Paul R Brown Leadership Academy leaving victorious, eating 16 burgers.
The Bladen County office of NC Extension provided a perspective on farming and the agricultural history of the area while local industries will be highlighted with displays and booths during the event.
