Butterfly season is here

Hudson's annual Butterfly Festival will be a mixture of old favorites and new additions as downtown Hudson welcomes throngs of visitors Saturday for its biggest event.

Bill Warren, festival coordinator for The Hudson Community Development Association's annual event and a town commissioner, said that as in years past the festival is expected to be a big draw. Vendors bought out all the available spaces about two weeks ago, and he is expecting about 80 booths to line Central Street, offering hand-made crafts, antiques and, of course, good food.

“One trend I've noticed, I'm getting a lot of people who do pottery, so I've got lots of that, and they're all different,” Warren said. “We also have the obvious things such as hand-made crafts. We have some antique vendors coming, and we have a lot of ladies coming that do quilting and needlework. So, it's a good mixture.”

For this year's festival, which will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in downtown Hudson, Warren also wanted to expand entertainment opportunities for the little ones.

“This year we've added more inflatables for the kids,” Warren said, “And of course we've got Hudson's miniature fire engine and E and B petting zoo.”

Entertainment also will be a mix of old and new, while incorporating a wide range of musical styles.

“I have two new acts that I've not had before,” Warren said.

Alaina Wallace, a South Caldwell High School student, will perform country music during her first time on stage at the festival. Also new this year is the blues group Shades of Blues.

As in years past Sherry's Dance Studio will perform. Contemporary Christian group Outburst and Caldwell County favorite Buffalo Country also will perform.

The festival, which is one of the oldest continuous festivals in the county, traditionally brings lots of visitors to Hudson, and it's seeing those old friends and meeting new ones that makes all the work of putting the festival on worthwhile.

“I just love seeing the crowds come, and it's exciting to see all these people downtown. We just have fun meeting our friends. It's just great to see the town full like that,” Warren said. “It brings a lot of awareness to our town.”

Rebecca Bentley, Hudson's town manager, agrees.

“I think it brings people into Hudson and gives them an opportunity to come out and enjoy spring and a way to welcome spring to the area,” Bentley said. “I hope we will have big crowds.”

The annual Butterfly Festival is set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in downtown Hudson.