By Ed Simmons, Jr.
cpreporter@lcs.net
Free hot air balloon rides and a 5k/10k run through Lake Caroline are some of the new events featured at this year's Ladysmith Day, next Saturday, May 22. The Lake Caroline-Wright's Chapel 5k/10k Run starts at 9 a.m. at Lake Caroline Lodge, with registration online at www.wrightschapel.org or beginning at 7 a.m. the day of the race at the Lodge.
Over in Ladysmith Village, starting at 10 a.m., folks can float away on the balloon rides, and when they're grounded again they can enjoy free pony rides, crafts, food, cooking demonstrations and face-painting, along with an impressive line-up on the Main Stage featuring Caroline's own stellar Milford Station Bluegrass Band, Message Sent and Aces in Irons. (See LadysmithDay.com for schedule.)
Meanwhile the Street Festival will be headed into high gear at the Ladysmith Business Park where on the more intimate Side Stage there will be additional musical acts, including Elvis impersonator Jim Smith, Megan Green and Chili Sauce. History buffs will want to flock to the Street Festival too. Appearing on stage at 11:15 a.m., Susan Sili of the Caroline History Museum will make a presentation of Civil War history in the Ladysmith area. With her will be a Confederate and his lady, and Susan will also discuss fashions of those times and tell about the lady Miss Clara Smith Lane was named after.
Of special note too, preceding her on stage will be a Renaissance Faire storyteller, and stationed throughout the Street Festival will be five food vendors enticing taste buds. Knitting the day together will be trolleys ferrying folks from Lake Caroline and Lake Land'or where there are Open Houses at their clubhouses. The trolleys will stop at Ladysmith Village and the Street Festival, so take a vacation from driving and leave your car parked.
Another reason to stay parked, a Wine and Beer Festival will further enliven Ladysmith Business Park too, with the first sips at 11 a.m. It's hosted by the Rotarians and Grapes of Taste Wine Shop. Then at 5:30 p.m. comes the After Hours Event at Ladysmith Village with DJ Richard Green and rock'n'roll with Runnin' Hot. For the thirsty, the Moose Lodge will sell beer on tap, and the Caroline Humane Society will sell food.
Organizer Eric Deibel, the Ladysmith Village resident who started up Ladysmith Day last year, said he was pleased to see the event take off. The committee helping him now includes Jim Fullem, L.J. Moyer, Scott Moser and Danny Carter. "I'm very happy with the support I've received this year," he said. Like a soaring, swaying hot air balloon, Ladysmith Day is on the rise.