Even though weather threatened the River to Rails festival, organizers are still calling the weekend activities a success.
Beth Stevens, executive director of the Greenwood-Leflore Chamber of Commerce, said even though participation in the 300 Oaks Race was down slightly, they are pleased with the amount of participation.
“We had about 800 race entrants this year,” Stevens said. “That is down a little bit, but we think that is because one of our largest teams of the past few years, Viking Range, didn’t have a team this year. We also think people may have been afraid of the weather.”
The fear of rain proved unneccesary, however, as the festival remained mostly dry.
“It rained every day the past week except for Saturday,” Stevens said. “God was smiling on the River to Rails festival Saturday.”
Clear skies held out from morning to the late night performance of nationally known R&B singer Denise LaSalle. She was born near Sidon and spent much of her childhood near Itta Bena before moving to Belzoni.
The crowd took turns eating barbecue, hamburgers and hot dogs, watching college football projected on a wall and soaking in the talent of artists on stage. A brave few took to the corner of Fulton and Market to dance by traffic light to the music of LaSalle, Big T & the Family, Banks 4, Money Road and other artists.
For the first time, runners used electronic chips to clock their times.
“The chips gave us a really quick turnaround on the race results, “ Stevens said.
The finish line was also moved to Keesler Bridge, helping to guide race participants and audience members into the downtown area.
“We think the finish line on the bridge made the event more festive and gave visitors a more spectator-type finish,” Stevens said.
After finishing the race, runners were fed at a post-race party by the river. Crowds of people flowed through the streets eyeing homemade and homegrown items at the farmer’s market and artists’ booths.
Lise Foy, executive director of Main Street Greenwood, said combining the festival and race enabled the organizers to pool resources for a bigger and better event.
“I’ve already heard a lot of positive comments about the combination,” Foy said.
The festival is not only an enjoyable event for participants but also a positive influence on the local economy.
“The festival brings a lot traffic into town,” Foy said. “It gives retailers a chance to show what we have here in Greenwood. Even if people do not make immediate purchases, they come back later, knowing what we have in Greenwood.”
Anthony Ola, owner of Ola’s Shoes on Howard Street, said he noticed more out-of-town traffic to his store Saturday.
“There was a definite increase in traffic,” Ola said. “Every time we can get people to Greenwood for a positive reason, it’s a good time to show them what we have to offer.”
Ola said he looks forward to return business from the visitors.
“We had a few purchases,” Ola said. “Now when these people start shopping, they know we are here and what we have displayed.”
