Shoals Cottagecore Festival May 10

By Hayley Sylvester

Staff Writer

Downtown Tuscumbia will be bustling during the second Shoals Cottagecore Festival on May 10. The event will run from 11:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., rain or shine. Dr. Mary Margaret Holmes, the owner of Pharmhouse Functional Medicine and Apothecary in Tuscumbia, founded the event last year. She worried there wouldn’t be a second year. The festival did much better than she thought, and the turnout exceeded her expectations. “Last year more than 5,000 people attended. My mind was blown! I was totally in awe of all the people who showed up,” she said. This year’s event will be bigger and better.

Musicians will be performing throughout the day. Holmes said she wanted to showcase the local talent because the Shoals has such a rich history in the music industry. “There is a husband-and-wife couple who will perform, but the other performers are some of our outstanding female artists from the area,” Holmes said. Opportunities will be available to make donations to help the musicians. Holmes recommends festival goers bring some chairs and relax while they listen to great music.

Attendees can also eat while they relax. The event has many food trucks scheduled, and the food choices range from savory to sweet. Last year, Holmes said some of the trucks ran out of food and needed to make emergency runs to grocery stores for ingredients. Holmes cautioned the trucks that they needed to be well prepared for crowds. Restaurants downtown will be open as well. The shops will also be open for business.

Most exciting for Holmes is the fantastic selection of vendors who will be attending. She had to cap the amount to 100, but each vendor offers quality, handmade items. Holmes said, “I think everybody will be so pleased with the different vendors with different aesthetics and vibes.” Vendors from Montgomery to Missouri will be there. Some examples: plants and seeds sellers, artists, quilters, pet treats and accessories, cottage bakers, woodworkers, pottery, stained glass – something for everyone. New this year is a bladesmith who will be holding knifemaking demos with a portable forge. Even a ballroom dancing company will be on-site to give out information about learning to dance.

A new event is a free homesteading class at 10:15, 11:00 and 11:45 a.m. The class will be located in the “Pocket Park” next to Fiddledee D on Main Street. Circle G Farms, owned by Curtis and Stefanie Gaither, will bring farm animals and give advice to anyone who wants to learn how to get started homesteading, gardening and taking back their dinner table.

The Colbert County Animal Shelter will hold a pet adoption. The shelter needs all sorts of pet items, and donations will be appreciated. Festival goers can donate bags of cat or dog food to get a raffle ticket. A small bag is worth one ticket, and a large bag is worth two. Only one pet food donation per person please.

Raffle tickets can be purchased at the Pharmhouse Apothecary booth. One ticket is $5.00, and a bundle of 5 tickets is $20.00. Some of the raffle prizes this year are a KitchenAid stand mixer in Juniper color, a Homewood Throw by Redland cotton, a Jane Austen themed bundle, a Lord of the Rings themed bundle, and a few others.

All raffle ticket profits will go to a family in need from Muscle Shoals. Kevin and Tiffany Lopez own Infinite Artistry, a tattoo and permanent makeup small business, on Woodward Avenue. Their thirteen-year-old son Azaiah has leukemia and recently had a bone marrow transplant. The Lopezes have six children, and the family is struggling with Azaiah’s illness. The Lopezes will have a booth set up to sell T-shirts. The festival has a goal to raise $5,000 for Azaiah.

Holmes hopes the event will be not only fun but also educational. She emphasizes that everybody has a place. So, what is cottagecore? “We want to get back to nature, back to our roots. We believe in supporting local businesses and families, friends and neighbors. The goal is to make connections and support each other. This is cottagecore,” Holmes said. Check out the Shoals Cottagecore Festival on Facebook and the website www.cottagecorefestival.com.