After several years at the Sports Complex outside town, the OleBrook Festival is returning to downtown Brookhaven this October forthe 26th annual event.

After several years at the Sports Complex outside town, the OleBrook Festival is returning to downtown Brookhaven this October forthe 26th annual event.

May we be the first to offer a hearty, “Welcome back!”

While Brookhaven and Lincoln County are blessed to have such afine Sports Complex, for many “old-timers” the festival belongsdowntown. That’s where it started, on the campus of WhitworthCollege, before moving to the campus of Brookhaven ElementarySchool.

Vendor booths this year will line Whitworth Avenue and WestCherokee Streets during the Friday and Saturday, Oct. 6-7,festival. Downtown businesses are already preparing for extrashoppers.

The Whitworth campus, which was for so long the heart of thiscity, will be utilized again this year with a Friday night gospelsinging at Lampton Auditorium. Other Friday night fun includes aBluz Boys concert in Railroad Park. A street party will be held inconjunction with the concert, plus some vendor booths will also beopen.

Also planned this year are musical entertainment throughout theday Saturday, an antique vehicles tractor and engine display,King’s Daughters Medical Center Health Fair and horse-drawncarriage rides through the city’s Victorian District.

Area cooks can again compete against each other in thePork-Beef-Chicken Cook-Off. A chili competition has been added thisyear.

This is a whole lot of fun, and there’s sure to be something forevery member of your family to enjoy.

The heart and soul of any city is its downtown. While many othertowns in Mississippi have seen their downtowns die, Brookhaven’s isalive and well — and vibrant.

The Ole Brook Festival just adds icing to the cake.