Aug 19, 2013 3 min read

GARARDS FORT – The coming of fall brings school, cooler weather, many colors and festivals and this year will be no different as the 43rd Annual Covered Bridge Festival will be held Sept. 21 and 22 at Garards Fort and Carmichaels in Greene County.

The White Covered Bridge folks in Garards Fort have been working throughout the year to get ready for this special weekend.

The festival will include many of the annual attractions, including entertainment, food and historical presentations.

This year the Civil War re-enactors will include the 140th PAVI, the 31st VA Co. and the 4th VA unit. The men will camp out and later put on the performance of the event by re-enacting “taking the bridge.”

The men involved in this re-enactment will also be emphasizing information dealing with the Civil War 1861 through 1865.

Noel Clemmer also will be on hand to do “battlefield surgery” after the battle. This was incorporated to give the audience the chance to see how surgery would have been done at the time of the Civil War.

Along with presentations on the Civil War, the festival this year also will be joined by an Indian re-enactor, “Ghost in the Head,” who will be portraying the Horun Indian of the 1700s.

The festival at 500 Roberts Run Road will include events for all ages.

The Kigers of Rocky Ridge Farm will be on-site with their horses for wagon rides around the festival.

Homemade food will be for sale, and organizers promise there will be something for everyone.

There will also be live music performances by gospel singers and country singers who will provide many different styles.

The festival will begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 21 with a short opening ceremony. The opening speaker will be D. Kent Fonner, author of “All Quiet on the Border,” a Civil War history of Greene County.

Gospel and country singers will take the stage at 11 a.m. and will play throughout the day.

At 3 p.m., the Civil War re-enactors will battle it out and re-enact a part of the country’s history.

The festival continues Sept. 22, beginning with a worship service led by the Rev. Gary Whipkey of the John Corbly Memorial Baptist Church. All are welcome to join.

After the service, music will once again fill the air, and many booths filled with crafts and other goodies will be available to explore.

At 3 p.m., the Civil War re-enactors will be battling once more and at 5 p.m. the 140th PAVI will come forward to retire the colors for another year.

White Covered Bridge was built in the Queen’s Post style of bridge in the early 1900s. The date is disputed as right at the turn of the 19th century or possibly about 1919. It is the longest of the Greene County covered bridges at 70 feet in length and holds up to 10 tons of weight. It was restored in 2008 by the state Department of Transportation by replacing deteriorating wood and installing steel beams to support more weight.

The festival at the White Covered Bridge is being held in conjunction with a similar festival at Carmichaels Covered Bridge. The Carmichaels Covered Bridge Festival also will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 21 and 22. Craft vendors, food and entertainment will be held in the Greene Academy building and courtyard, which is adjacent to the 121-year-old Carmichaels Covered Bridge. For more information on this festival, call Alan or Dorothy Vozel at 724-966-8993. For more information about the White Covered Bridge Festival, call Cheryl Clark at 724-966-2357 or email wcbridge@gmail.com.