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AHOSKIE –The Town of Ahoskie and The Gathering Place are hosting the 2023 Fall Fling on Saturday, Oct. 14 where craft / food vendors, artists, and entertainers along the heart of Main Street will come face-to-face with locals and visitors.

Among the planned activities on both ends of Main Street include a Fine Arts Show and Sale, car show, street vendors, live music, a comedy show, 5K run, and activities for children and teens.

To safely accommodate the crowd and the event participants, Main Street will be closed from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m.

A 5K run/walk will officially kick-off the day’s activities at 8:30 a.m. The start/finish line is adjacent to the Ahoskie Town Hall on Main Street.

ECU Health Wellness Center in Ahoskie is sponsoring the 5K Run/Walk. Pre-registration ($35 per person) can be done online at tiny.cc/ahoskie5K or by stopping by the ECU Health Wellness Center located on Hertford County High School Road.

The 5K course begins at Town Hall and travels behind the hospital and around the Ahoskie Creek recreation complex before returning to the Town Hall via the same route.

Children’s activities and the Fine Arts Show & Sale will begin at 9 a.m. on the east end of Main Street. The Arts Show & Sale will be indoors at The Gathering Place at 701 Church Street (formerly the Fellowship Hall adjacent to First Presbyterian Church). The Show will be from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Children’s activities will feature bouncy houses, face painting, book giveaways, Christian Music, pumpkin painting for children, and some planned activities for elder adults outside on the grounds as well as vendors.

There will also be health and wellness information and activities as well as a trained specialist who can check the proper installation of a child’s car seat, and other wellness information from ECU Health.

“Our last Fall Fling was in 2019 and it was a great success and our town needs a day of family fun,” said Pat Byrd, Director of The Gathering Place. “We plan to have plenty of different activities that will be a great place for families and friends to have a wonderful day.”

Vendors will offer everything from leather goods, purses, body scrubs, makeup, oils, spin art, jewelry, and handmade baskets, as well as information on voting, wellness, Medicare, and much more. They will open for business at 9 a.m.

Fall Fling also includes a Car Show, which opens at 9 a.m. in the area of Jernigan Oil on Main Street. There is no registration fee. To sign-up or to receive additional information, contact Anthony Hooper at 757-218-8233.

Food trucks will begin serving at 11 a.m. at No Man’s Land Park, located adjacent to the railroad crossing on Main Street.

Live music begins at 12 noon on the Main Street stage, also near No Man’s Land Park.

The “Teen Zone” will be open from 1-4 p.m. on Main Street (in the area of the old Wells Fargo Bank) featuring music, games, and activities that are more age-appropriate for 12–17-year-old youth. The Town of Ahoskie has a current partnership with Duke University and their Duke Teen Health Club who will also be a vendor inside of the Teen Zone. The partnership works to bring the ENC-HEAL (Health Equity for Adolescent Lives) grant program to local teens in the Ahoskie Youth Center.

“I am so delighted to have the Ahoskie Fall Fling back again this year,” said Ahoskie Mayor Weyling White. “In 2019, we had a very successful event and sadly had to postpone the following years due to COVID-19. This year we are providing more entertainment at no charge to the general public as a thank you and courtesy to our community.

“As with many small towns and cities across the United States, Main Street is the heart of the city and we take pride in bringing everyone from our surrounding region to our downtown. Fall Fling has been a time of laughter, joy, and celebration in our beloved Ahoskie, and I look forward to continuing this tradition on Saturday, October 14^th,” Mayor White added.

Fall Fling closes with a comedy show that is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

The goal of Fall Fling is to stimulate economic growth in the town, invite investment opportunities along Main Street – Historic District, and by drawing visitors in to visualize business opportunities, visit the community, and enjoy the hospitality of its people.