ELLERBE — Each year, Anthony Townsend drives up from Hamlet to his hometown to sell ribs to the patrons at Mayfest.
Held the first Saturday of May, the festival is organized by and serves as a fundraiser for the Mineral Springs Improvement Council.
The aroma of food, including Townsend’s ribs, filled the air in the field at the corner of King and Railroad streets. One tent was serving up fried fish and another had hot dogs.
In a large tent across the closed-off street from the stage, festival goers found respite from the heat of the mid-spring sun while listening to Albert Everett sing gospel, “Guitar Man” Ray Chales Lindsey perform R&B classics such as the Temptations’ “My Girl,” and Terry McLaughlin sing the Patsy Cline classic “Walking After Midnight.”
The festival, now in its seventh year, also had a 50/50 and Bingo.
At the back of the festival area, Sgt. Travis Bowman with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office had another way to beat the heat: a dunking booth.
Kids took turns throwing softballs at the target to try and make Bowman take a dip.
Other activities for the younger among the crowd included a fishing game and a mobile video game trailer from Entertainment on the Move.
The festival, now in its seventh year, also had a 50/50 and Bingo.
Sgt. Travis Bowman of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office makes a splash after 6-year-old Heaven Cook hits the target on the dunking booth.
