Festival Fun Facts
The first Everybody’s Day Festival was held in 1908, making Everybody’s Day, North Carolina’s Oldest Festival. Everybody’s Day is always held on the last Saturday of September in downtown Thomasville. Everybody’s Day hosts over 200 arts & craft vendors. The vendors are juried to insure true craftsmanship.
Last year:
- 27% of the vendors come from the Thomasville area
- 52% of the vendors are from other parts of North Carolina
- 21% of the vendors are from 6 different states Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia & Illinois
More than 70% of the festival vendors apply to return each year, which is an indication of their positive experience. Twenty-five food vendors offer a huge assortment of delectable delights to meet everybody’s culinary desires. About half of the food vendors are local not-for-profit organizations, which use funds raised at the festival for many charitable purposes.
The children’s area includes games, rides and special appearances. Three stages of entertainment offer music. Blues, country, rock ‘n’ roll, and gospel are featured. One stage of entertainment offers dance demonstrations by performers of all ages.
The Everybody’s Day Festival requires thousands of hours of planning and coordination. Chamber of Commerce volunteers and staff log the hours over a yearlong period to insure success. Over 100 local and regional businesses participate in the festival by donating goods, services and sponsorship funds that make the festival possible.
An important festival partner is the City of Thomasville. Mayor Joe Bennett, the City Council, City Manager Roger Bryant, Department Heads and much of the City staff provide important support and services. Without this support, the thousands of visitors could not enjoy the festival each year. Providing electrical power to many festival booths and entertainment stages at a daylong outdoor event is challenging. Central Electric Company in Thomasville steps up to that challenge and makes the festival a huge success.