Autumn on the Dry Fork celebration set for Saturday
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HARMAN – A fun-filled day complete with food, music, and crafts will be offered Saturday at the annual Autumn On The Dry Fork celebration.
The gathering, which will get underway at 11 a.m. at the Dry Fork Recreation Center, will feature an abundance of food including roast pork and chicken barbecue meals. Each meal will include beans, coleslaw, a roll and bottled water.
The highlight, however, will be the homemade apple butter and apple cider that is made during the event. Visitors from miles away drive to the event each year just to snatch up some of the apple-created specialties. Additional baked goods and handmade crafts will also be available from vendors.
The annual celebration first started in 1999 as a way to raise funds for the Dry Fork Recreation Center, which has been able to grow in part from money raised at the event.
Rex Vance, Dry Fork Recreation Center president, began the fundraiser after he found a location to build the recreation center.
“I saw a need for a community park for the kids because they didn’t have any place to go, or nothing to do,” Vance said. “I was driving down the road one day and saw this meadow where everything we have is today. There hadn’t been anything there since the flood of 1985, so I contacted the owners and they thought it was a great idea.”
Vance said the property needed to raised out of the flood zone. Then volunteers were able to add a baseball field, concession stand, garage, performance stage, basketball court, volleyball court, pavilion, and a community building, which Vance refers to as “the big building.”
The 90×100 steel community building has been under construction for several years, he said.
“We are working on the pipes right now and we are trying to get that done at a low cost or volunteer,” Vance said. “We are hoping to get the concrete poured in the building this winter.”
Once complete, the community center will consist of a full gymnasium, a kitchen, showers, bathrooms, and a wellness and fitness center. The Dry Fork Recreation Center is located behind the Old Mill just off Route 32
“The money we raise at the Autumn on the Dry Fork goes to the Recreation Center, that’s why we started the event,” Vance said. “We usually have a good crowd every year. Hopefully we have some good weather so everyone can come out and have a good time.”
For more information about Saturday’s event, contact Vance at 304-227-4124. Information can also be found on the Dry Fork Recreation Center’s Facebook page.