Annual White Lake Water Festival to be held in May

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) —Preparations are underway for this year’s 42nd Annual White Lake Water Festival, which will also introduce attendees to new improvements down at the lake.

The White Lake Water Festival celebrates the start of the traditional summer season. The 42nd festival will run the weekend of May 21-22 at Goldston’s Beach.

Organizers say they plan to have all of the traditional events a parade, concerts, car shows, and vendors, with COVID-19 precautions in place.

“We’re proceeding as if normal, because we believe people are ready. We think enough people are getting the vaccines,” said Terri Dennison, Elizabethtown-White Lake Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director. “We’re going to require masks, we’re going to require social distancing, but we’re going to move forward as if it were a traditional parade.”

Dennison also says this year’s theme will also encourage festival attendees to embrace traditions, and new improvements coming to White Lake.

“We’ve kind of introduced the theme that talks about celebrating the past, but looking towards the future, and there’s a lot going on at White Lake. There’s a lot of new development at White Lake, but we also want to remember that it’s a timed tradition, and people love going there,” said Dennison.

Some of the new improvements are taking place at Goldston’s Beach, now being rebranded as the Grand Regal at Goldston’s Beach.  A lot of the attractions have been modernized, but they’re still offering the video arcade, putt-putt golf course, vintage carousel, and piers.

“We’re really excited about people coming out and enjoying, you know, all of the outside festivities. As we get, you know in the middle of May, we’re around Water Festival, then we’ll open the property up for the public to come in and enjoy just like always,” said Jake Womble, President of Goldston’s Beach.

Womble, a fourth generation owner of Goldston’s Beach, says this festival will showcase a new side of white lake.

“Really excited, overall for White Lake, you know, it’s just not about Goldston’s Beach, it’s really about White Lake as a whole, and bringing in, you know, a whole  new kind of customer and we want people, when they’re thinking about southeastern North Carolina, you know, think about White Lake,” said Womble.

This year will also be the  100th Anniversary of Goldston’s Beach, they plan to hold additional events surrounding the anniversary following the festival in June.