LEIGHTON-This year’s Recall LaGrange Festival will feature several new exhibits and events, while continuing to pay homage to the first chartered college in Alabama.
The festival is Friday, May 4-Sunday May 6 at LaGrange College Site Park, 1491 LaGrange College Road, Leighton.
Among the new exhibits is a barn quilt painting, provided by The Alabama Barn Quilt Trail. The painting was affixed to a log barn at LaGrange College Site Park just in time for the festival.
Another new exhibit will be the original bell from the LaGrange College, which has been housed at Athens
State College for more than 90 years. A ceremony to celebrate the return of the historic bell is at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
A new event is the reenactment of a law enforcement raid on a moonshine still at 2 p.m. Saturday. There will be a display of moonshine stills and tours of the nearby Dawson Distillery on Saturday.
Louise Lenz, an organizer of the festival, said LaGrange Living Historical Association, a sponsor of the event, changes some of the activities and exhibits every year.
“We want to keep things fresh,” Lenz said. “We have people from all over who come back every year.”
Some exhibits are mainstays of the festival and are featured every year, including living history displays of life atop LaGrange Mountain during the Civil War. In addition to LaGrange College, a town once stood where the park is now located. The college, along with most the buildings in the town, were destroyed by the Union Army in 1863.
This year’s festival will also celebrate Alabama’s bicentennial.
Other activities will include an antique and classic car display, wagon rides to historic LaGrange Cemetery and musical entertainment. Artists and craftsmen will be displaying and selling their wares. Local author Robert Steen will attend with copies of his latest books. The LaGrange Observatory will be open for tours. Concessions will be available.
The festival is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.
Susann Hamlin, president and CEO of Colbert County Tourism, said Recall LaGrange is an excellent event for families and is one of the most popular festivals in the Shoals. “The organizers and volunteers at Recall LaGrange do a fantastic job telling the story about the history of our area.”
For more details about the festival call Lenz at 256-446-9324 or Colbert County Tourism at 256-383-0783.
