For its 60th year, the Virginia Highlands Festival will be entertaining all over downtown Abingdon featuring crafts, artists, music and family entertainment.

If you’ve never been before, during these few weeks the grounds of the Martha Washington Inn and blocks around will be full of tents of artisans sharing their paintings, artworks and unique creations.

Want some entertainment highlights? How about street dances? Comedy routines? Actors? Literary workshops? Antiques? Celtic music? Just about everything you could possibly think of will take place in downtown Abingdon during these few weeks of summer.

For the kids, things get rolling with the Children’s Parade. Then Puppet shows, parties, face painting, theatre and fun are right around the bend.

There will also be field trips - featuring a hike to Mount Rogers State Park and recreation area, a birdwalk on the Virginia Creeper Trail, and mountaintop stargazing.

Of course, what better way to spend a hot summer day than by celebrating fresh local produce? You can wander on down to the Abingdon Farmers Market for a morning filled with old-time music, heirloom tomato tastings, fun activities for the kids and, of course, the fabulous local foods and produce of Southwest Virginia’s finest farmers.

Love to fish? Bruce Wankel, a local fly fishing guide and owner of the Virginia Creeper Fly Shop, will demonstrate how to get the fly to where the fish are by demonstrating different fly casts, as well as fishing knots used.

We wish we had room to put the entire schedule for the Highlands Festival inside this issue, but recommend that you pick up a copy of the Highlander Magazine, or visit them online at www.vahighlandsfestival.com for all the details.

We’ll see you at the Highlands Festival!