The 34th Annual Labor Day Celebration A Day for Good Food, Gospel Music, and Giving

The 34th annual Labor Day Celebration took place Saturday through Monday in Blue Ridge.
The event is held every year in order to raise funds for The Good Samaritans of Fannin County.
The non-profit, benevolence organization is comprised of area churches of various denominations that assist those in need.

The churches had a big part in the celebration starting with a” PIC-NIC-NAC” in the downtown park at which several worship groups sold ‘knick-knacks’ in order to raise funds for benevolent causes. At the stage, a Christian-country-rock band, the Elijah project (think Lynard Skynyrd with gospel lyrics) played full blast.

On Sunday evening, there was a “Community Worship Service” and an ice cream social.
Lead event organizer, Carly Hammond, told FYN she considered the event “fabulous.”

She was right.

This was a community binding event that had to make every Fannin County resident proud. It was a celebration of Southern Appalachian culture- truly unforgettable.

On Monday, the coals were started in the early morning (typically, the BBQ pits run almost 24 hours).
A head count has not yet been tallied but FYN estimates that, at any one time, between 1000 and 1500 people were in attendance(this does not include the drive-by service).

The bands were impressive. FYN sat through a couple of sets of the Cartecay River Band, a very talented group of seasoned musicians.

Kudos to the Good Samaritan organizers and member churches. The event has not ‘lost its salt.’

It has not become commercialized or trivialized.

Good food, good music, good gospel.