Valley Head to Host Rails and Roots Festival

We are excited to announce that our spring festival has been renamed the Town of Valley Head Rails and Roots Festival. It will be held on Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17. We have an incredible lineup of musicians from Nashville, Chattanooga, and from right here in DeKalb County. The full schedule of performers will be featured in my May article. Local band TPS Report will kick off our street festival with a free concert, Friday, May 15, at 6 p.m. Mi Pizza will be on Commerce Street selling fresh pizzas and delicious wings.

The Valley Head Volunteer Fire Department will be hosting a corn hole tournament all evening.

Sign-up for the tournament begins at 5:30 p.m. in front of the Masonic Lodge. All proceeds from the corn hole tournament benefit our volunteer fire department.

Among our many incredible artists for the weekend-long festival is Grammy-nominated and award-winning triple-threat writer, artist, and performer Brandon Maddox. Brandon has received multiple Josie Music Awards, toured with Monster Truck, and has shared the stage with country stars such as Brett Eldredge and Blake Shelton. Brandon’s second single, which reached #58 on the Music Row Chart, “Good Side,” was featured in the latest season of top Netflix drama “Virgin River.” Brandon will be featured on our main stage on Sunday, May 17, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Also performing Saturday will be up-and-coming country stars Carter Pinholster out of Chattanooga. Double Portion is composed of Seth and Sam Swafford, identical twins based in Centre. They fell in love with music when they received their first piano and guitar as children. Growing up in Alabama, with parents in the ministry, they have always loved music, especially Christian music. They will hit our main stage on Saturday, May 16, at 2 p.m.

Our festival will also include pony rides, a children’s train ride, blow-up obstacle course, and a dunk tank. All children’s activities are free this year, thanks to the very generous donation by Fritz Structural Steel. We thank Stephanie Fritz for always supporting the town! There will also be numerous food trucks, food vendors, and numerous craft vendors. We still have several vendor spots open. If you would like to be a food or craft vendor for our event, please stop by Town Hall for an application, or email me at vhmayor@farmerstel.com.

Chief Brad Gregg and I are so very pleased to announce that the Valley Head Police Department has been awarded over $48,000 from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant through ADECA. We plan to use the entirety of the grant to purchase a much-needed new patrol car for our town. We would like to thank ADECA for this opportunity to keep our community safe and up to date with the best patrol car.

The Valley Head volunteer fire department is always looking for new volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer fireman, please call Town Hall at 256-635-6814, and we will give you Chief Dustin Burt’s contact information.

Valley Head holds their Town Council meeting on the first Monday of each month, beginning at 6 p.m. The public is always welcome to attend. Our next meeting is Monday, April 6.