I just wanted to give my report on our Mayberry Days experience this year. Things have been quite hectic both at work and home, so forgive the week's delay. I know a lot of people did not make it this year due to the pandemic who otherwise would have gone, but we made our lodging reservations, bought show tickets, and arranged for time off from work before the virus became a thing, so we decided to go ahead as planned. We were only able to be in town Friday and Saturday, as it takes a full day of driving for us to get there and another to return home.
Friday's weather was poor -- cool and rainy off and on. But jackets and umbrellas gave us some protection. We attended the Mayor's Proclamation, where the lack of guest stars was evident. Then we did some shopping on Main Street for Mayberry items (got a TAGS 60th anniversary mug with all 249 episodes listed on it and a similar T-shirt, among other things). We also picked up our "Mayberry Man" merchandise. Ray and I had lunch at The Loaded Goat, which was the first time we had eaten together in a sit-down restaurant since the lockdown in March. We wore our masks until our food arrived (which was delicious!). We had bought tickets for LeRoy McNees's show, but it was cancelled. We took a squad car tour in the afternoon, a first for us. We had always wanted to do it, but there are usually so many people wanting rides that it's hard to get in. We figured the light attendance on Friday was a good opportunity, despite the dismal weather. Larry was our driver and was very friendly and entertaining. We stopped in at Opie's Candy Store afterwards and had ice cream. If you are a chocolate fan, go there and get the Smoky Mountain Fudge. It's wonderful! Of course, we couldn't miss the World Championship Trivia contest. I think this was the third time I've participated. The questions this year in the qualifying round were pretty hard! Many of them asked for names of unseen people mentioned only once in passing. Those don't normally stick in your brain, and I didn't do any preparation at all for the contest. Anyway, I got six right and came in fourth behind Jeff Gossett. Forget who the top two were. Maybe someone can remind me. They were the only ones who were allowed into the final round. I didn't think about it until afterward, but we had no group photo for the WBMUTBB? chapter as we normally do, but I'm assuming this was because of the need for social distancing. In the evening, we attended a show by Tim White and Troublesome Hollow (formerly the VW Boys). We enjoyed the bluegrass music. After the show, Ray bought two of their CD's and they threw in a free "Eat More Possum" bumper sticker. I don't know if Ray will be brave enough to put it on his van! The biggest disappointment was the cancellation of the parade on Saturday morning, so we lounged around and didn't come into the heart of town until lunch time. It was a beautiful day, in much contrast to Friday. In fact, it was the most pleasant weather we've ever experienced at Mayberry Days -- sunny but not hot and humid. I figured attendance would still be sparse due to the parade being cancelled, but we were surprised at the large number of people strolling Main Street. I'm sure the merchants were pleased! Due to Covid 19 restrictions, Prof. Brower's Lecture was divided into two shows, and we were assigned to the 3:00 show. We got seats front and center. Unfortunately, because no guest stars were present, Neal Brower didn't have anyone to interview, as is his custom, so he talked instead about how he came to be a TAGS fan, write a well-regarded book about the show (Mayberry 101), and teach a community college course on TAGS for many years. He discussed how he came into contact with various people connected with the show and described some of his experiences with them. It was really quite interesting. After the lecture, we headed to the amphitheater for the annual meeting of TAGSRWC. On our way, we stopped and purchased our official Mayberry Days shirts from the Surry Arts Council. Since Jim Clark was absent this year, Allen ran the program. Chapter reports were given, and some awards were handed out. Eric Lowry (Mayor Pike) won the Mayberry Friendship Award, and Dewey Lamb won the Jim Schwenke Memorial Award. Both were well deserved. After we grabbed a bite to eat, Ray wanted to go back to Opie's for more ice cream. I really was not hungry, but I made the sacrifice for his sake and had some more Smoky Mountain Fudge. That evening, we attended the revamped version of Col. Tim's Talent Time, which was held at the Earle Theatre instead of The Andy Griffith Playhouse. Since there were no guest stars to participate, the tribute artists took up the slack, and Michael Hoover (Elvis) had a bigger part of the show. It was all very enjoyable. My only quibble is that the last part of the show, where Michael performed, was all done on the floor instead of on the stage. The stage at the Earle has steep steps and apparently has no backstage access, so I figured this is why Michael chose to stay on the floor. However, it made it harder to see him and the others, and I imagine some people sitting farther back had even less of a view than we did. Hopefully, Col. Tim's can return to the playhouse next year so that this is not an issue. It's true that this year's Mayberry Days was sorely lacking in some ways -- the guest stars and parade were greatly missed -- but Mayberry Days is less about spectacle and more about people. The tribute artists really stepped up to the plate and helped all of us enjoy the weekend. We saw old friends and made new ones. Ray and I are glad we went. Thanks to all who made it a special and fun time! Thelma Lou (Janet) _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://www.wbmutbb.com/
