By Karen Hall

Editor

There will be something to do all day Saturday in Petersburg, especially if you are a music lover.

The Petersburg Lions Club is hosting a Heritage Festival and Arts and Crafts Fair at Lions Pride Park, with all-day entertainment provided by a Battle of the Bands, starting at 9 a.m.

Eleven bands are scheduled to compete. For the first round, each band will play for 30 minutes. The judges will be John Price of Price Guitars, professional music teacher Cathy Tudor, and Jenny Bedford, who enjoys all types of music. After the first round, three bands will return to the stage to perform a few more songs, and the final placings will be determined.

Winning this contest earns a band more than bragging rights. First place is worth $500, plus studio time to record one radio-ready song produced by Alf Batz at Alfa Audio Productions Studio. The second place band will receive $300, and third place gets $200.

The band competition will be followed by an auction of donated items, ranging from the useful (a computer desk) to the beautiful (an antique glass basket), and everything in between. All proceeds benefit the Lions Club's programs for the local community. The main ones are vision screenings for children and providing glasses for people who can't afford them.

There will be at least 30 vendors selling their wares, as well as people bringing yard sale items. Once you've seen everything that's for sale, take a ride in a mule-drawn wagon, or try the "zero gravity" ride.

Don't leave before it gets dark or you'll miss the firework show. It will be put on by licensed professional pyrotechnician Michael Head, who lives in Petersburg. Gabriel Communications of Nashville, producers of beloved TV shows like "Larry's Country Diner," donated some of the money for the fireworks, and the Lions Club is providing the rest.

The Lions Club is going to charge for parking and concessions, said member Terry Tudor, but apart from that, you can have fun without spending money.

Petersburg has held a festival at this time of year before, but it was called the Chicken Festival. Those organizers were unable to continue, so the Lions Club took over the date, and started something completely new.

"Music is in our heritage," said Tudor, as an explanation for the name of the festival.

"Next year it will be bigger and better," he said.

Lions Pride Park is at the corner of Fayetteville Highway and Spring Street, and you can't miss it, Tudor said, because there will be big tents up.

So come on out to Petersburg to support the Lions Club, have a great time, and perhaps witness the start of a great musical career.